The War of Darkness
by Zoshonel
Summary: It's been a year since the War of the Triforce, and as Hyrule enjoys the peace it so rightfully earned, a new conflict is about to explode. This time though, the enemy will not only be on the battlefield, but within everyone's hearts as well.
1. Prologue

**The War of Darkness**

By: Zoshonel

The night was calm, cool, and clear. The stars twinkled brightly in the huge expanse of blackness up above the sleeping kingdom of Hyrule. The nearly full moon lit up the darkness of the night allowing for a clear, if not somewhat shady, view of all of Hyrule for those few travelers out upon the open roads. It was the perfect kind of night to just lay back and stare up at the wondrous enigma above. It was a romantic night, the kind written of in romance novels and the perfect night for a young couple in love.

None of this beauty could pierce into the heart of Death Mountain Crater however. Large billows of dark grey and black smoke rose out of the bubbling lava and out the vent at the summit totally obscuring the night sky from view by anyone inside the crater. Not even the darkness of nighttime could enter the crater. The lava glowed brightly casting a reddish hue over the brown and bronze colored rocks that made up the interior of the mountain giving it an unnatural and hazy fluorescence. Though the temperature outside the crater was cool, inside it was a boiling inferno that threatened to melt the skin right off the bones.

The only living things currently inside this fiery pit of death were two Goron warriors. They were situated on either side of the entrance to the Fire Temple. The Gorons were laying in their traditional face down position, their hard stony backs up in the air barely even registering the immense heat all around them. As they laid there, secure in the knowledge that no one except a Goron or someone wearing a Goron Tunic could possibly enter the crater, a black circular object appeared on the ground near them.

The black object was spinning clockwise, growing larger and larger with each passing second. As the object spun and expanded, it emitted a low viscous sounding hum which caught the attention of the two Gorons. Both Gorons picked up their heads, groaning as they did so, and looked around. Upon discovering the source of the hum the two Gorons stood up slowly, stretching their limbs once they were fully upright. Cautiously, the two Gorons began to slowly walk toward the still expanding black object.

When the object had reached a diameter of about three feet, it stopped expanding. It continued to spin clockwise, but now it was slowly hovering up off the ground. This new action stopped the Gorons' advance. The Gorons now watched as the flat circular object began to morph into a sphere as it floated upward. Maintaining its three-foot diameter, the object transformed into a large, black sphere which hovered high enough off the ground so that the top of the sphere was eye level with the two Gorons. When it was finished, the sphere stopped spinning and just hovered there in midair.

The two Gorons just looked at one another not sure of what to do. They had never seen anything like this before, and as such were stumped. Knowing that they couldn't just leave it alone, one of the Gorons stepped toward the sphere. When the Goron was within arms reach of the sphere, he stopped as a long black tentacle emerged from the sphere. The tentacle emerged several feet from the surface of the sphere, making the same viscous sounding noise from before as its length continued to grow. While the main body of the tentacle remained round, the tip of the tentacle flattened to the point where it was barely even visible anymore.

In a lightning fast move, the tentacle lunged forward decapitating the Goron closest to it. The cut was clean, and it happened so fast that not a drop of blood was spilled. As the Goron's head flew into a nearby chasm of molten lava, his body just fell limply to the ground. The other Goron, now realizing that this object was not friendly, charged forward in an attempt to avenge his comrade's life. Before he could even make it five steps however, the tentacle lunged forward again decapitating the Goron in the same manner it had his comrade.

With both Goron guards dead, the tentacle retracted back into the sphere. The sphere then began to morph once again. Five protrusions appeared on the surface of the sphere as it began to twist, turn, and stretch into the form of a human. It took mere seconds, and now standing before the entrance to the Fire Temple was a rather large and menacing looking man.

The man towered at roughly seven feet tall, and he was well built. His muscles were extremely well defined giving him the appearance of a god. A long flowing black cape made of silk, which was held in place by a pair of spiked shoulder pads, extended down his entire back. Currently, the man had the cape wrapped around his body making it impossible to tell what else he was wearing. On his face he wore the top half of a skull that was as black as his cape. The only part of his face that could be seen was his jaw, on which a scar could be seen running diagonally from his neck up under the skull mask that he wore.

Without even cracking a smile at his accomplishment, the man walked toward the Fire Temple, every step he took more menacing than the last. Despite being wrapped up in his black cape, the tremendous heat rising up from the crater's bottom didn't even seem to phase the guy. Not even one drop of sweat could be seen on what was visible of his face. A large stone door blocked the entrance to the Fire Temple, but with a simple wave of the man's hand the door exploded into thousands of stone shards. With the way now clear, the man entered the Fire Temple.

Heading deep into the temple's interior, the man walked with great strides. He walked neither fast nor slow, but someone half his size would've had to walk twice as fast just to keep up. With every step he took the man's boots resounded deeply and full of purpose along the temple's empty halls. He was heading down deep toward the center of the temple, a path which Link had never even neared on his journey through the temple nor even knew about. The path the dark and foreboding man walked upon was a lot older and far more awe-inspiring then the main temple.

Long ago the Fire Temple had served as a magnificent and unparalleled forge. The original Goron inhabitants of Hyrule produced both weapons and armor of unmatched beauty and effectiveness from this forge. To protect the forge the Fire Temple had been built around it to prevent any who would bring harm to Hyrule to delve into its secrets. As the ores and other minerals used in the production of Hyrule's finest weapons and armor began to grow scarce, and with Hyrule finally entering an age of long-lasting peace, the forge's importance diminished. As such, the forge was sealed and its existence wafted off into the pages of history along with its once proud creations that now lie buried and useless in ancient battlefields.

Save for only the eldest of Gorons and the few historians who actually believe the legends, the forge itself has just become another legend, a legend that most shrug off as nothing more than a fairy tale. That was where this man was heading now. His lips just turned into a grin that became ever more maniacal the closer he got to the ancient forge. It would be here that he would create his ultimate weapon and then soon afterward conquer the kingdom of Hyrule.

The man was soon standing before the great doors that barred his way into the forge. The doors were twice his size, and made entirely of iron. The exact thickness of the doors could not be interpreted, but just by staring at them one could see that they were at least half a foot thick. Ancient inscriptions lined the doors, but they were written in the ancient Hylian language. Though their translation was unknown, the man knew that they were actually incantations and other such spells designed to prevent these doors from ever opening again.

With a short gruff laugh that was full of defiance, the man thrust both his hands at the door hitting them with such force that the walls of the room he was currently standing in shook shaking off centuries worth of dust and debris. When the echo of his hit ceased, the man's hands became engulfed in a black aura. Keeping his hands perfectly still, the aura expanded till it engulfed the entire door within the same black aura as the one around his hands. Once the door was fully engulfed, the man removed his hands and the door began to swing open. With the path ahead of him now clear, the man stepped into the legendary forge.

The room was as large as it was magnificent. Large furnaces occupied an entire wall of the forge while on the opposite wall hung various hammers, tongs, and other such metal shaping tools. The third wall was a waterfall of molten magma. The magma continually flowed down the wall and into a large basin on the floor. Since the magma didn't overflow, it was safe to assume that there was some sort of drain at the bottom of the basin. Situated within the basin were large vats of assorted sizes. All the vats were completely submerged in the magma except for their very tops. In the middle of the room were situated large tables, anvils, unfinished swords and shields, and many barrels full of different kinds of ores and minerals.

With a wicked smile the man waved his hand and a large barrel full of dark silvery metallic rocks appeared out of thin air. He lifted the rather large and heavy barrel effortlessly and carried it over to one of the larger submerged vats. Dropping the entire contents of the barrel into the vat, he watched as the rocks began to melt almost instantaneously. While the rocks were melting, the man waved his hand again and a huge stone slab with the mold of a sword etched into it appeared on one of the tables.

When all the rocks in the vat had melted into a dark silvery liquid and began to boil, the man stared at the vat and made a rising motion with his hand. The vat floated out of the magma without any help and over to the stone slab. Now hovering over the stone slab, the man made a turning motion with his hand and the vat turned pouring its entire contents into the mold. Once the liquid had cooled and hardened enough to be held, the man walked over and lifted the sword out of the mold. He now carried the sword over to one of the great furnaces and shoved the blade inside. While the metal heated, he reached into his cape and pulled out the Megaton Hammer, a souvenir he had picked up from the War of the Triforce.

With the edge of the blade now glowing red-orange, he pulled the sword from the furnace and placed it on top of a nearby anvil. Then, wielding the Megaton Hammer in just one hand he began to hammer the blade. For hours the man continued to hammer and temper the blade till it was finished. He carved and etched the designs of the blade till it was perfect. Once he was finished, he took the sword and laid it out upon one of the tables.

The sword was 4 feet from end to end. It's scalloped blade was as black as coal, yet it held a silvery glint to it. Etched down the middle of the blade on both sides were golden runes, their origin and meaning a complete mystery. The guard of the sword was different. It was of a bright silver color. The middle of the guard was in the shape of a diamond out of which extended what looked to be layered arms that ended in sharp points. In the center of the diamond on both sides was carved an eye, and to make the picture complete a red gem had been placed in the eye to give it the appearance of being alive. The grip was wrapped up in black leather, but the pommel kept the same silvery color as the guard. The pommel had five sockets in it, four along its circumference and one at is top, all of which had a brilliantly shining gem in it.

"Finally," the man bellowed in a deep voice as he picked up his sword, his voice echoing all throughout the Fire Temple. As he held the sword high above his head, the same black aura from before engulfed his hand and quickly spread up the length of the sword.

"With this sword in hand, none shall stand in my way. Even the legendary Hero of Time shall fall before the might of _Dragonflame_. All is now set. The only thing missing now is a general for my army, one whose skills and abilities equal those of Hyrule's greatest warrior. Fortunately, I know exactly where to find one. Mwhahahahahaha!"


	2. Reminiscence

_A veil of total darkness blanketed the entire kingdom of Hyrule. The only light that could be seen was coming from the top of Death Mountain, an area known as Spectacle Rock. It was encircled in a brilliant golden light, it's source being none other than the legendary Triforce. Among that golden light laid the battered and bruised body of Link, his body face-down in the dirt. His tunic was torn and tattered, and all over his body were various cuts, scrapes, and bruises. The very dirt underneath him had darkened from the blood pouring out of his numerous wounds._

_Off in the distance Link could faintly hear the sounds of war. Though the distance from their source dampened the sounds considerably, Link knew those distinct sounds well. He could hear the metal upon metal of swords clashing, the shrill cries of pain and suffering, and the all too constant moans of death. These sounds were all too familiar to the Hylian hero, and no matter how hard he tried to drone them out and concentrate on his own predicament he found himself unable to. The sounds just pierced through the pitch black sky revealing to all of Hyrule that it was currently experiencing its fiercest and bloodiest conflict in history._

_As Link laid there, willing his body to move with whatever strength he had left, a foot slammed into his side. It was followed by another, and another until Link had rolled over onto his back, immense pain shooting up from where Link suspected he had a few cracked ribs. Now on his back, Link could see his attacker fully. It was the dark and menacing figure of Ganon, and he wore a look of extreme delight as he reached down, grabbed Link by the throat, and lifted him up off the ground._

_Link could feel Ganon's grip around his neck getting tighter and tighter, but he stopped just short of crushing Link's throat and killing him instantly, of which Ganon was perfectly capable of. Instead Ganon held him tightly watching as the life slowly drained from Link's face. Link could see Ganon's lips moving, but he couldn't hear what he was saying. Link had already crossed the threshold, and his eyes were losing focus. Just as his life was about to be extinguished, Ganon let go, a look of extreme pain in his face._

_Slowly Link's lungs began to fill with air again. Link sputtered and coughed as he tried to recover. Wanting to know why Ganon had let go, Link tapped into already exhausted reservoirs of strength and looked up. The sight before him was a joyous, yet grim one. Standing behind Ganon was Gerik in such a battered and bloody mess that it made Link look like he was ready to attend a Ball. Link then watched as Ganon took his sword and drove it into Gerik's chest and straight out his back._

"Noooooooo!" screamed Link as he sat up in his bed, his hands tightly gripping his bed sheets.

Link was now sitting straight up in his bed, his eyes wide and his face pallid. Link's entire body was shaking uncontrollably as he sat there. His breathing was fast and heavy, and his heart was beating so fast that it felt like it would bust right through his chest. He was soaked from head to toe in sweat, occasional drops falling from his hair down onto his shirtless chest from his shaking. Link's knuckles had now turned white from gripping the sheets so hard.

Link turned his head from side to side trying to get his bearings. To his right he saw the gleaming light from the moon filtering in through his window. A cool breeze was wafting in through the window causing the curtains to dance in its wake. As the cool night air blew across Link's sweat soaked body, he began to calm down. His breathing and heartbeat slowly returned to their natural rhythm as he stared out his window at the clear starry backdrop beyond. With a pain now shooting up from his hands Link realized he was still gripping his bed sheets and released them.

Link now dropped his head into his hands. Breathing out a sigh he wiped the sweat from his face as he raised his head to look up at the ceiling. Lowering his head again, Link looked at the wall directly across from him. On the wall hung the Mirror Shield, and behind it hung the Master and Biggoron Swords crossing each other. Below that hanging vertically was his bow, and underneath that laying on top of a dresser was his quiver and bomb bag. Though once boasting a considerable collection of weapons and other useful items, Link's collection had fallen upon hard times with much of his stuff having either been lost or broken. A few trivial things such as his various boots and tunics still resided within his home in the Kokiri Forest, but other than that everything he had left currently hung from that wall.

Letting out a sigh of frustration Link tossed aside his covers and stood up. He grabbed the robe that was hanging on the wall beside his bed and threw it over himself. Link then walked out of his room and into the castle halls. Links' eyesight had to readjust slightly as he walked into the candle illuminated halls of Hyrule Castle. As Link walked down the castle's exquisitely decorated halls, he couldn't help but wonder the same thing he always did when traveling through the castle's labyrinth of halls, and that was how the castle had been one of the few things to survive the War of the Triforce nearly a year ago during which all of Hyrule was nearly obliterated.

Despite having survived the war, Link noticed significant changes within Hyrule Castle. Royal Guards could now be found guarding and patrolling every hallway of the castle at all hours of the day and night. Even the castle grounds and the castle path leading to Hyrule Market were now guarded around the clock by Royal Guards instead of just regular knights like they used to be. Despite the losses the Royal Guards had suffered during the war, their numbers had swelled since then mainly with the incorporation of respected and veteran knights from the regular army right after the war and with even more in the months following.

The Royal Guards weren't the only ones to become revamped in the aftermath of the War of the Triforce. Hyrule's standing army, which had consisted of a measly 300 knights before the war, was now made up of well over 500 fully trained knights. In addition, Hyrule now had a reserve force of 300 soldiers who could be expected to defend Hyrule at a moments notice. The reserve force had been created so that there wouldn't be a repeat of what happened during the War of the Triforce, where ordinary civilians were drafted into the army, given only a few days training, and then sent to fight a fully trained army. Much of the Hylian casualties had been from among those drafted, but whether it was because of their lack of training, the fact that they outnumbered both the regular army and Royal Guards combined, or a combination of both none could be sure.

Link finally made his way into the castle's extravagant and beautifully decorated foyer. He didn't stay to admire the view though, instead walking out of the castle and over the drawbridge. The cool night air comforted Link as he walked across the bridge. As he walked Link turned his attention down toward the moat below him. The moat, which was now once again crystal clear and beautiful, reflected the stars and nearly full moon up above lavishly. Below the surface of the water Link watched as colorful fish swam by playfully among the reflections of the stars.

Having walked the entire length of the bridge Link looked ahead of him at the field before him. Though having suffered severe damage during the war, to look upon it now no one would be the wiser. The grass had all grown back and was once again a bright healthy shade of green. Colorful flowers had been planted in intricate patterns to try and restore the beauty that had been lost. Among the flowers stood tall shrubs that had been sculpted into images of the various races of Hyrule as well as in the images of several heroes from the War of the Triforce. Link snuck a peak at the shrub representing his old friend Gerik, of which he noticed needed a slight trim around the head area, gave a slight nod, and then headed off down the castle path.

It wasn't long before Link came upon the newly rebuilt gate that guarded the path to the castle. The support and roof of the gate had been rebuilt using pure white marble, and the gate itself had been forged by Biggoron himself using the same materials he uses to make his famous swords. Currently the gate was open, but there were six guards keeping watch. Two of them stood on top of the gate with bows in their hands while the other four stood down on the path itself, two each facing either direction and on either side of the gate. Link gave the guards a small salute as he passed by, and they in turn nodded in response as Link walked the last few legs toward Hyrule Market.

Hyrule Market, which had most assuredly seen better times, was slowly returning to its former glory despite the fact that it had been completely burned to the ground and reduced to nothing more than ashes nearly a year before. As Link walked into the developing metropolis, he couldn't help but stare at the halfway constructed buildings all around him. In total only a quarter of the city had been rebuilt, but another quarter of the city was nearing completion. The Temple of Time, which had been reduced to rubble, was among those buildings nearing completion. As of yet no one had returned to live in Hyrule Market, but that was because most of the completed buildings had been businesses to try and recoup Hyrule's economic losses.

As Link walked along he could see that the ground was still scorched in many places from the firestorm that had engulfed the city and knew that no matter what Hyrule Market would always bear the scars from that horrible night. He also knew that Hyrule Market would always bear scars of another sort, but these scars were unseen. Hyrule Market would always bear the memories of lost possessions, of loved ones cut down defending their homes. Though the blood of those slain was long gone, it would remain forever in another form. Link knew that it would still be quite some years before Hyrule Market was as prosperous and bustling as it had been before the war.

Link now made his way into what used to be the center of Hyrule Market and laid eyes upon one of his most cherished childhood memories, the fountain. Just like the rest of Hyrule Market however, the fountain had been utterly destroyed. The fountain had been rebuilt differently though, as a tribute to the heroes of the War of the Triforce. The fountain's basin kept the same simple yet elegant design of the original, but the center piece was different. In the center of the basin now rested a stone platform, on which stood four statues each pointing in a different direction. The statues were sculpted into the figures of a Hylian, Goron, Zora, and Gerudo to commemorate not only their alliance both during and after the war, but also to remember all those who had given their lives. Instead of shooting up out of the center, the water now shot up out of the basin in little jets that arched toward the center platform.

Link stood by the edge of the fountain for a few minutes watching the jets of water dance in the moonlight. The night was so quiet that the only sounds Link could hear was the trickling of the water in the fountain. He liked how they had remade the fountain, but to him it just didn't compare to the original. The original fountain had been something straight out of his past, and now it was gone forever. In a way Link was glad that they hadn't rebuilt the fountain exactly as the original for to him it would've just been a cheap imitation. At least this way the fountain honored all those who gave their lives to protect Hyrule.

After splashing some of the water from the fountain on his face, Link started walking again. He was now heading out of Hyrule Market and toward the recently completed outer wall. Even in the dead of night Link could see it's gleaming white surface, not a spot of imperfection to be found. The wall was made out of the same marble slabs that made up the gate guarding the path to Hyrule Castle. It remained the same height as the original, but it was now twice as thick. Along the top of the wall and facing out toward Hyrule Field hung colorful banners of yellow, green, red, blue, purple, and orange. Above where the drawbridge rested was the Triforce carved directly into the wall and painted gold.

The drawbridge itself was now a wonder to look at as well. The drawbridge was now constructed out of sturdy red oak planks, and holding those planks together were golden brackets. The chains that raised and lowered the bridge gleamed with a silverish light. Behind the drawbridge and resting up within the wall was the new portcullis, which just like the gate had been created by Biggoron. The drawbridge was down as usual during these peaceful times, but there were two knights keeping watch on either side of it.

Link could have passed by unhindered had he wanted to, but Hyrule Field wasn't his destination. Instead, Link turned just before the wall and started ascending the stairs that would take him to the top of the wall. All along the top of the wall stood knights keeping watch at regular intervals across the entire length of the wall. They stood there like shadows, ever vigilant and ready to defend Hyrule with their last breath. Link walked right past them as he reached the top and headed straight for the edge of the wall.

Link peered out over the edge and out toward Hyrule Field. Though it was nearly impossible to tell in the dead of the night, Hyrule Field still bore scars from that terrible night. In many places the ground was still barren and scorched, never again to yield life in it's blackened soil. Every once and awhile people would still turn up swords, shields, and even broken arrows that had been buried in the mud. The rest of Hyrule Field had regained its bright verdant color and wildflowers were beginning to blossom returning Hyrule Field's lost beauty somewhat.

Even though he couldn't see it in the darkness of the night, he couldn't bear to look South, at the place that he had called home as a child. He knew the sight that awaited him. He knew that all he would see would be the charred remains of what had once been the Lost Woods. Without the Deku Tree not a single plant had grown back in the now desolate area. It was no longer a natural utopia, but now just a wasteland full of death. Link hadn't had the heart to return there ever since the end of the war, and he probably never would.

Instead, Link turned his attention toward the East and his gaze immediately fell upon Death Mountain. Death Mountain just stood there dark and ominous upon Hyrule's landscape, smoke billowing out of its summit as usual. Link loathed that mountain. It pained Link dearly to look upon it, but at the same time it offered him a certain comfort that he couldn't describe. He knew exactly why it pained him so to look upon Death Mountain, but as to why it also offered him comfort he was oblivious. Link pondered why it comforted him so every time he laid eyes on the mountain, but every time it remained unanswered.

Not feeling up to the challenge of figuring it out tonight, Link broke his gaze and turned toward his right. His eyes immediately caught sight of Zelda as she stood there leaning against the edge of the wall staring up mindlessly at the night sky. She was wearing a purple silk nightgown on which was embroidered in gold the Triforce and other such emblems of the Royal Family. Her long blonde hair was blowing in the wind, and even when her hair blew into her face it did little to break her trance. Zelda had obviously not noticed Link up on the wall, so he made his way over to her. She was so transfixed on the stars above though that she didn't even notice him approaching. It wasn't until Link wrapped his arms around her from behind that she snapped back to reality.

"So what's a gorgeous gal like you doing out so late at night?" Link asked in a soft voice as he held her.

"Oh, just waiting for some dashing rogue to come and take me away," Zelda replied jokingly as she tried containing her laughter. "I was just staring up at the night sky. Isn't it such a beautiful night out?"

"The only beautiful thing I see around here is you."

"Well, when did you become such a sweet talker? You know, I was going to ask you if you wanted to come out and stare at the stars with me, but you had already gone to bed. What are you doing out here anyway?"

"I just needed a little fresh air so I decided to take a little walk."

"It was the dream again, wasn't it?" Zelda asked as she turned around to face Link, her tone no longer playful but serious.

"No, of course not," Link replied without looking at Zelda. "I just decided to take a little walk, that's all. What, is that now a crime?"

Zelda didn't respond, but rather crossed her arms and stared at Link with a stern face. Link began to grow worried when she didn't say anything, but still he didn't look at her. Instead he lowered his head so that he was looking straight down at his feet. When still she made no response Link shot a glance up at her without raising his head and saw the serious look on her face. He instantly knew that she wasn't buying his story, so he raised his head back up with an apologetic look on his face.

"Fine, you win," Link said defeated. "Yeah, I had the dream again. Are you happy now?"

"No, I'm not," Zelda replied her voice becoming soft and full of care, "I'm worried about you. You've been having that dream more and more frequently recently, and with the anniversary of the War of the Triforce just two days away you're now having it every night."

"See, that's why I didn't want to tell you. I don't want you worrying on my behalf. I'm going to be perfectly fine. If I can take down the strongest man in the world, then I think I'll be able to handle a little nightmare."

"Say what you will, but this isn't healthy for you. The dream is running you ragged. You have to let what happened to Gerik go. It wasn't your fault."

"Who said this had anything to do with Gerik?"

"Come on Link, who do you think you're fooling? Your dream centers around his death rather than any of the other horrors you witnessed. Deny it all you want, but deep down you still consider yourself responsible."

"I'm not going to get into this argument with you again. Let's just drop it. The dream is over; it's done with. Let's just sit back and stare up at the stars."

Zelda didn't push the issue any farther. Instead she just snuggled up close to Link and wrapped her arm around his waist. Link smiled down at her as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and held her close. The two of them then turned their attentions upward toward the starry backdrop up above. It was times such as these that Zelda enjoyed being with Link the most. When they were together like this under such a beautiful background, all the troubles of the world, both past and present, seemed to fade away.

Even though the nightmare was still gnawing away at the back of both their minds, neither of them said another word about it. They just continued to hold each other and stare up at the infinite expanse above them. Starting to feel a little drowsy, Zelda rubbed herself up closer to Link resting her head upon his chest. Link looked down at her and then rested his head lightly upon hers. Zelda's hair was silky to the touch and smelled delightfully of the sweet scent of wild berries.

"Well," said Link after a bit, "I think I'll go and try to get some sleep before the sun comes up. You coming?"

"In a little bit," Zelda replied with a smile.

Link kissed Zelda on her cheek before releasing her from their embrace and then headed over to the stairs. Zelda watched him as he descended the stairs, and once he was out of sight leaned up against the edge of the wall and looked out upon Hyrule Field. The sky above no longer offered her any interest. All of her thoughts just kept drifting to Link. As several tears began to roll down her cheeks Zelda slammed her fists against the edge of the wall.

"Damn you Link!" she cried. "Why won't you open up to me? I know that there's something bothering you, but you won't tell me what it is. What are you trying to protect me from? Don't you realize that no matter what it is I'll still love you? Just tell me what it is so I can help you. Please Link, how much longer can you live with it before it erupts?"


	3. The Premonition

The sun rose bright and shining into a still cloudless sky the following morning. As it rose, the sun cast not only its light but also its warmth onto all of Hyrule. As for the sky itself, it was a beautiful shade of baby blue. Occasional flocks of brightly colored birds could be heard singing their songs as they flew cheerfully in the warm morning air. The cool breezes that had dominated the night were now nonexistent, but the weather wasn't hot enough to warrant their need anyway.

Zelda and Malon were enjoying the warm, pleasant weather from within the castle gardens. They were sitting in the center of the garden. The chairs they sat on were a pair of elaborately designed light brown wicker chairs. Between them was a round, medium sized glass table. The glass tabletop was stained a dark navy blue color, and it's frame was made out of wrought iron that was as black as coal. As they sat there talking to one another from across the table, all the natural beauty of Hyrule flourished around them.

The garden was full of life. Every type of flower, shrub, tree, and any other plants that grew anywhere within Hyrule could be found within the garden. The garden ran the entire length of the castle's southern wall, and it was open roofed to allow for full view of the sun. A meandering cobblestone path ran throughout the entire length of the garden while a small babbling creek that was fed by the moat flowed through the center of the garden.

All along the sides of the cobblestone path were the many different types of flowers that grew in Hyrule. Some were arranged in simple rows while the more exquisite and beautiful flowers were arranged in intricate and dazzling patterns. The individual flower beds were separated by hedges that were grown between them. The hedges were all interconnected and together they formed a maze-like pattern around the flowers. From all this a delicate bouquet permeated the air all along the length of the path.

Along the path were also beautiful maple wood benches for people to sit, rest, and just enjoy the beauty around them. All of the benches were under the shade of a different kind of tree. The rest of the trees that grew in the garden were placed all along the perimeter of the garden. They stood there like silent sentries while birds flew merrily among them. The garden was considered by most to be the most tranquil and beautiful area in Hyrule which is why its citizens loved to just come and stare at the beautiful scenery while they listened to the birds singing and the rushing water of the creek.

The center of the garden, where Zelda and Malon currently were, was a little circular island that the creek flowed around. It was accessible by a small wooden footbridge that extended off of the main path. On the island was a large square lattice canopy that was supported by four wooden posts at its corners. Growing on and hanging off of the lattice were several different types of vines and ivy. From this island one had a view of the entire garden, and as such was considered the best place within the garden.

While Zelda and Malon sat there under the shade of the vines and ivy, a servant walked over with a tray of drinks for the two of them. He placed the drinks on the table and after making sure that the girls didn't need anything else walked away. The girls weren't the only ones within the garden though. All over the place gardeners were hard at work keeping the garden beautiful and every once and a while some people would come walking down the cobblestone path enjoying the view.

"So what are you going to wear to the festival tomorrow?" asked Malon as she took a sip from her drink.

"I was thinking about my violet dress; you know, the one with the floral design embroidered in gold," Zelda answered. "I haven't decided what I'm going to do with my hair yet though. How about you? There's going to be a lot of single guys at the festival."

"Will you stop that already? When the time is right I'll find the perfect guy, but until then let's just let life play out. Besides, how many years did it take for you and Link to finally get together?"

"Um . . . yeah . . . well . . . you see . . ."

"My point exactly," Malon grinned. "Besides, I already have other plans for the festival."

"Yeah, well I hope they include you participating in one of the archery contests. You've spent nearly all your free time out on the archery range improving your skills. I think you're even better than Link now."

"On foot I am anyway. On horseback Link has me way outclassed. Actually, I'm still a novice when it comes to horseback archery."

"You're kidding me right?" Zelda asked in disbelief. "You lived on a ranch your entire life surrounded all the time by horses and you barely have any skill shooting arrows from on top of a horse."

"It's not like I had all the free time in the world. I did a lot of work at the ranch. Whatever spare time I did have went to practicing with my bow and arrow or singing."

"Well you signed up for the regular archery contest then, didn't you?"

"Where would the fun be in that? You might as well not even have the contest and just hand me the first prize. I want a challenge, and I want to test my skills against the best. The only way I can do that is with the horseback archery. Which did Link sign up for?"

"I don't think he signed up for either of them. I don't even think he signed up for the sword contest. I don't know what's with him lately."

"Tomorrow is the anniversary of the War of the Triforce. He may not feel like celebrating a day where many brave warriors, including several close friends, died. In a way even I think that having a festival on the anniversary of the bloodiest war in Hyrule's history is a little morbid."

"So do most, including even my father, but he does have his reasons for choosing a festival as a way of remembrance. For one it celebrates the alliance that was made among all the races of Hyrule, and for another it's a happier way of remembering the thousands who gave their lives in the defense of Hyrule. I do have to agree with my father on those points."

"Isn't your's and Link's one year anniversary tomorrow also?"

"Technically it's the day after. Remember, we didn't formally get together until the morning following the war."

"I wonder what Link has planned for you two?"

"So do I," replied Zelda a little distractedly, "so do I."

Zelda's voice trailed off as she said the last few words. At first Malon didn't notice, but after taking another sip of her drink she turned to see Zelda staring out blankly into the garden while twirling her right index finger along the rim of her glass. Malon saw sorrow deep within Zelda's eyes, and as she looked more closely she noticed dark marks under Zelda's eyes which was consistent with lack of sleep. It appeared as if Zelda had tried to cover up the marks with makeup.

"A little trouble in paradise?" Malon cautiously asked.

"Huh . . . what?" asked Zelda as she was brought out of her reverie.

"Is there something the matter between you and Link?"

"No, of course not! Well, sort of. Link had the dream again last night."

"Again? That makes it what, three or four times in a row now?"

"Four times, and I have no doubt whatsoever that tonight will be the fifth."

"Well it is only a dream," said Malon in a comforting tone to try and cheer up Zelda. "So Link is having a bit of a case of insomnia brought on by a nightmare. It's probably just because of tomorrow. I'm sure once tomorrow comes and goes the dream will stop occurring so often."

"I have no doubt that Link is having the dream more often now because of tomorrow, but there's something else. There's something deeply troubling him, yet he won't tell me what it is. He won't let me in. He's keeping me as far away from his problem as possible. I'm at the end of my rope. I don't know what to do anymore."

"Zelda, don't cry. I wouldn't worry about it so much if I were you. The dream centers around Gerik's death, so obviously he still hasn't gotten over it. When Link finally comes to terms with what happened, he'll stop having the dream."

"It's more complicated than that. Something else happened on that mountaintop; I'm sure of it. As to what it is I have no clue, and Link apparently has no intentions of telling me."

"What makes you so sure that it has nothing to do with Gerik though? Why would his dream center around Gerik then?"

"I never said Gerik had nothing to do with it. My guess is that Gerik's death was the catalyst to what's truly bothering Link. Whenever I try to talk to him about it though, he just shuts me out. I don't understand why he won't let me help him."

"He's probably just trying to protect you. The last thing Link would ever want to do is hurt you, so he's probably keeping you at a distance to make sure that whatever is bothering him doesn't affect you."

"But doesn't he realize that he's hurting me more by not telling me what's wrong?" Zelda's eyes began swelling up with tears. "What makes him think that he can't confide in me? Why does he think I won't be able to handle it?"

Malon just sat there staring into her folded hands on the table as tears began streaming down Zelda's face. She knew that there were no longer any words she could offer Zelda to comfort her. Zelda had a point, and only Link could offer words of solace to her now by telling her what she wanted to know. All Malon could do now was sit and listen, and maybe later on have a talk with Link.

After a few minutes Zelda began to calm down. With watery eyes she turned and looked all around the garden. The castle garden had always been a place of joy and comfort for her in even the darkest times, and though not as effective as it usually was the beautifully arranged flowers in the garden brought a small smile to her face. The smile soon vanished as suddenly as it appeared and Zelda turned back toward the table. This didn't go unnoticed by Malon who immediately understood the reason behind it.

"There's more, isn't there?" Malon asked with full confidence.

"Link's not the only one who's been having dreams," Zelda replied as she wiped what tears were left from her eyes. "I haven't told Link about it because of everything he's going through, but . . ."

"But what? Don't start acting like Link now. You're starting to scare me here. What is it?"

"The dream isn't like Link's. It's not of any event that's ever happened . . .yet anyway. I feel like the dream is trying to tell me of something, to warn me. It almost feels more like a premonition than a regular old dream."

"What happens in the dream?"

"Hyrule is completely covered in darkness. Wherever you look everything is dying; the trees, the grass, the flowers. The cities and villages lie abandoned and forsaken. It's almost as if Hyrule itself has died. The scene then changes to a large black tower, the outside of which is surrounded by the decaying bodies of Hyrulian warriors. Inside the tower I see Navi. Her armor is no longer golden, but black. She's sitting on the ground clutching a body in her arms and crying. I can't see the body's face. I then see Link. He's lying face down on the ground. His body is bloody and bruised, far worse then what Ganon did to him. He's not moving. I think he was dead. As I stare at Link this menacing voice laughs out loud. I look around to find the source, and when I look up I see the Triforce floating above me, only it's black. At that point I usually wake up in a cold sweat."

"Oh . . . my . . . I . . ." Malon mumbled in disbelief. "Your probably just putting too much into it because of what Link is going through."

"No, it's more. When I was little and first laid eyes upon Ganon, I felt his evil. I knew that he was evil and would bring great tragedy to Hyrule. This dream, this premonition, it feels the same way as that day. Maybe the powers the goddesses granted me last year have opened up my mind more, have allowed me to foresee great dangers. I don't know whether that's right or not, but I know what I feel every time I have that dream. I'm scared Malon."

"We should tell Link about this. We should ready the army. We should . . ."

"And do what? I have no idea where this tower is, or whether it's even real or just a representation of something. I don't know who the enemy is even. We could be dealing with something ten years in the future for all we know."

"Then what do you suggest we do; just wait?"

"My answer scares me more than even the dream, but I'm afraid we have no other choice but to wait."

* * *

Link walked over the drawbridge and out into Hyrule Field with a rather glum expression. His old tunic not even having enough thread remaining to make a sock after the war a year ago, Link was now wearing a custom-made tunic that Zelda had gotten him. It was a deep forest green like his original, but on the front of it was now embroidered the gold Triforce and red avian that were synonymous with the royal family and could so often be found embroidered on Princess Zelda's dresses. This tunic was slightly heavier than the original with the addition of metal rings that had been woven into the cloth to add extra protection. 

Once out upon the wide open plains of Hyrule Field, Link looked around. Wherever he looked he could see the final touches being done to the festival. Areas had already been set up for the various archery contests, the sword competition, and other entertainment that was planned for the festival. All along the banks of Zora's River were assorted booths for food, drink, games, and the dozens of peddlers who were all raring to sell their goods.

Around all of this were colorful banners and flags. People were running all over the place trying to get everything ready. They were all busy setting up the last few booths or putting up the remaining banners. Hylian soldiers could also be seen in the mix as they were putting the final touches upon the security arrangements for the festival. Link couldn't help but wonder if they were really necessary, but the past year had taught him a harsh lesson about always being prepared, especially for the unexpected.

Tired of staring at all the goings-on of the festival, Link turned to his right and started walking along the bank of the river. He looked down at the ground as he walked, ignoring everything around him. Off to his left, though Link didn't look since it was just another painful reminder, was the nearly rebuilt Lon Lon Ranch. At Talon's request the ranch had been rebuilt as a replica of the original with only minor differences. Those differences included the ranch being slightly bigger than before and with more advanced features. All that remained to be finished was the house, which was already halfway completed.

As Link continued to walk along the bank of the river, he soon came upon a bridge that had not been there a year before. It was a sturdy wooden bridge made out of beautiful maple planks. The ropes extending the bridge over the river shone in a silvery light in the sunlight. The bridge had been constructed shortly after the War of the Triforce in order to allow access to the graveyard beyond.

The graveyard was a true vision of beauty just as King Hyrule had wished it to be. All along the bank of the river was a large golden fence with a golden archway in the center where the bridge connected the two banks of the river. Behind the fence were the graves of over two thousand brave Hylian, Goron, Zora, and Gerudo warriors. Their tombstones were made out of the finest and most aesthetic quartz stone. The graves were all aligned in neat rows, and so as not to show any sort of favoritism towards any one race all the bodies were mixed throughout the graveyard.

On either side of the graveyard stood two weeping willow trees, and spaced at regular intervals throughout were rose bushes. Standing next to the golden archway was a granite podium on which rested a silver plaque. Written on the plaque was a message to all who visited the graveyard. It said:

_This graveyard is dedicated to the brave men and women who selflessly gave their lives in the defense of Hyrule against those who would have razed it to the ground in the War of the Triforce. This graveyard stands not only as a memorial to their remembrance, but also to the bonds of friendship and brotherhood that were formed. Never again shall we forget that we are all a part of Hyrule, and that it is up to us to ensure its survival._ _This graveyard stands as proof that nothing is impossible, and that even in the darkest moments a shimmer of light shines forth._

_King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule_

Link walked across the bridge and entered the graveyard. He walked right past the plaque, knowing what was written on it by heart, and headed straight to a lone grave that stood out from the rest. The grave was far out ahead of all the others and was alone. The tombstone was larger than any of the others, and on top of it was sculpted a warrior battling a fierce demon. Link knelt down on one knee upon reaching the tombstone and stared at the intricate writing on its face. It was the grave of Gerik, and underneath his name was written:

_The greatest Hyrulian of all, Gerik sacrificed everything, including his own life, to ensure that Hyrule would have a future. His resolve allowed all of Hyrule to unite under one banner, and without his bravery victory could not have been achieved. He will be remembered always by those who loved him._

"Hey man, long time no see," Link said with a weak smile as he placed one hand upon the tombstone. "I'm sorry I haven't come to visit in a while, but you know how it is. Tomorrow's the day . . . the day that changed everything. Can you believe it's been a year? Seems more like five years to me. Navi is supposed to be returning tomorrow, but I wouldn't put much stake in that. She's tried her best to do what you wanted and get on with her life, but it's difficult for her. It's especially difficult every time she returns to Hyrule."

Link breathed out a heavy, sorrowful sigh and stood up. His eyes never left the tombstone as he stood. Link began to rub his chin as all sorts of feelings started welling up within him. He tried to continue talking, but the words were getting all choked up in his throat. Taking a small peek at the festival behind him, Link turned back toward the tombstone.

"It's wrong," Link finally managed to say. "It's all wrong. None of this should have ever happened. Most people will remember tomorrow as the day Hyrule was almost destroyed, or the day Hyrule's bloodiest war took place, or even the day that all of Hyrule was united, but I'll always remember it differently. I'll always remember it as the day that forever changed Hyrule . . . and not for the better."


	4. A Long Expected Party

Link awoke the following morning rather begrudgingly. It was the sunlight streaming in through his window and hitting his face that had awoken him. Link tried to block the light by covering his head with his blanket, but it was no use. As much as he didn't want to do it, he finally relented and threw the covers from him. Slowly, Link sat up and rested at the edge of his bed. As he sat there he lowered his head down into his hands wishing that this day would just be over with already.

Link had had the nightmare again. This time it had been slightly different however. Instead of being shocked awake like usual when he witnessed Gerik being killed, Link watched as Gerik's limp form just slid off of Ganon's blade and collapsed onto the ground. Then, something happened that neither occurred that night or in any of his dreams before. Gerik's body, though dead and lifeless, began to talk to Link.

"_It isn't over," Gerik's words rang in Link's head as he sat there. "What happened was only the beginning. Hyrule is in more trouble now than ever before. Lord Arcana accomplished exactly what he wanted."_

Link didn't understand a word of it. He knew that it was his subconscious trying to tell him something, but he had no idea what it could be. Knowing that Zelda would start to worry if he was late, Link pushed the dream to the back of his mind and stood up. He walked over to his closet and pulled out a black tunic. He felt it only appropriate considering that today was also a day of mourning. Link then pulled on his boots and walked out of his room. He didn't have a black hat to match his tunic, so Link just let his blonde hair flow freely down his head.

There were almost no people roaming the castle halls. Link knew that they had all gone down to await the opening festivities of the festival. With a grim smirk Link made his way through the castle. He was just strolling along, not particularly in any sort of a hurry. He knew Zelda would most likely yell at him if she saw how he was taking his sweet time coming to meet her, but he was too concerned with other matters to be worried about that.

"Zelda's going to kill you if you make her wait any longer," said an unwavering female voice from behind Link. "She and Malon are waiting for you by the fountain."

Link quickly turned to see Impa standing there in the hallway. She was leaning up against the wall dressed in her usual battle-gear. Her arms were folded across her chest and she was looking down at Link with her usual monotonous expression. Link blinked at her in surprise wondering if she had used her Sage powers to teleport there, whether she had used a Sheikah trick to hide herself, or whether he was just so out of it that he walked right past her without noticing.

"Oh, hi Impa," Link replied rather glumly.

"Are you feeling okay?" Impa asked noting his glum expression.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Can I ask you something? When Ganon killed you and the other Sages, what was it like?"

"Well, if you mean what happened to me after I had passed on, I don't know. All I remember is dying, and then being brought back to life. It's like that part of my memory was wiped, if there was even anything to wipe. If you're asking how it was like to die, well then I can describe that all too well. Why are you asking this?"

"No reason in particular. It was just something that came to mind, probably because of what today is."

"You just wanted to know what happened to Gerik?"

"It would've been nice. Well, like you said Zelda's going to kill me if I make her wait any longer, so I better get going. See you later then."

Impa nodded in response and Link took off down the hallway at a slow run. He exited the castle and headed down the castle path towards Hyrule Market. A few wispy, white clouds dotted an otherwise clear sky, but all in all the weather seemed to be perfect for a festival. The temperature was warm, with occasional breezes blowing across the land. Just as Link was about to enter Hyrule Market, a pair of frolicking baby rabbits crossed his path, bringing a small smile to his face.

Once in the city Link headed straight for the fountain. As he neared it he could see two figures sitting on the edge of the fountain talking. The first one of them to come into full view was Malon. Malon wasn't wearing one of her usual dresses. On her legs she now wore a pair of white, tight fitting tights and on her torso was a suede yeoman's jerkin. A pair of soft boots adorned her feet, and on her hands she wore a pair of brown, half cut gloves. Usually flowing freely down her back, Malon's long red hair was now tied up in a bun. Next to her, leaning up against the fountain, was a bow and quiver of arrows.

Link then laid eyes upon Zelda, and his jaw nearly dropped in amazement. She was wearing a violet dress made of velvet. The dress hugged Zelda's figure nicely, but flared at the bottom to allow freedom of movement. The sleeves of the dress were georgette, and the neckline was trimmed in brocade. Embroidered all around the dress in one continual pattern was a floral design in gold. Zelda was wearing her hair down, allowing her smoothly brushed hair to flow behind her. The smile she wore as she was talking to Malon only accentuated her beauty.

Link gave himself a minute to compose himself before heading over to them. He hid the smirk on his face as best he could as he approached them. It didn't take long for Malon and Zelda to notice him walking over. Malon smiled upon seeing him, but Zelda's face held a playful look of 'it's about time you showed up.' Seeing that, Link walked straight over to Malon, turning his back upon Zelda.

"Hello Malon, how are you today?" Link asked her while trying to keep a straight face.

"I'm fine," Malon giggled.

"Oh, so I guess there's no one else sitting here?" Zelda asked coyly and playfully.

"Sorry Zelda, I didn't see you there."

"Uh huh. So then why were you drooling like a dog when you saw me?"

"So you saw that? Oh well, all games must come to an end sometime."

"Well you certainly seem happy this morning," Malon said noticing his unusually chipper mood. "It sure is a change from the way you've been acting lately."

"Yeah, what's the deal?" asked Zelda with a speculative glance.

"I don't know," Link replied as he sat down between them and put his arms around both. "Maybe it's just the fact that I'm here with my girlfriend and best friend. We should probably be getting a move on now; the festival's about to start."

Link hopped up and started making his way toward Hyrule Field. Zelda and Malon meanwhile just sat there, dumbstruck. Slowly, they turned to look at each other with mouths opened wide. They didn't know what to make of Link's new mood.

"Um," began Malon nervously, "what the hell was that all about?"

"I'm not sure," Zelda said slowly, "but I'm scared."

"He's acting like he's possessed."

"Maybe he finally reverted back to his old self, just like you said he would. Either that or he's finally snapped. Why question it though? Happy Link sure is a lot better than depressed Link."

With those less than encouraging words, both Zelda and Malon stood up and headed after Link. Malon made sure to take her bow and quiver before walking off. Link, who by this time was already crossing the drawbridge, had dropped his phoney facade. Link knew that lately he had been putting a lot of undo stress upon Zelda with his nightmares and new bleak outlook on life. Since today was supposed to be a day of joy, Link decided that he would try to act as if nothing was bothering him for Zelda's sake.

When he saw Zelda and Malon catching up to him out of the corner of his eyes, Link put on a smile again. Link wrapped his arm around Zelda's shoulder as they crossed the drawbridge while Malon just walked beside them. Even though the current act he was putting on was a phoney one, just being around Zelda did make him feel better somewhat. In his eyes she was truly the only thing he had left of the past.

Above them from on top of the wall came the voice of Zelda's father, King Hyrule. He was making a speech to all those gathered in Hyrule Field. Hylians, Gerudos, Zoras, and Gorons all stood upon the field, their eyes and ears all focused upon the figure of King Hyrule standing atop the wall. Zelda and Link had already heard the speech hundreds of times already, so they knew it by heart. They could tell that he was just about finished and that the festival would begin momentarily.

As soon as the three of them walked out onto Hyrule Field, King Hyrule paused in his speech. Then in a loud, joyful voice he cried for the festivities to begin. King Hyrule's words were immediately followed by a dozen high pitched whistles. Link, Zelda, and Malon all looked up to see a dozen Goron made fireworks fly off the wall and into the sky above Hyrule Field leaving a trail of white smoke in their wake. When the fireworks were above the center of Hyrule Field they exploded into bright colors of yellow, green, red, blue, orange, and purple.

Commotion arose all around Hyrule Field as the festival formally began. The stalls were now open for business and the games were up and running. All over Hyrule Field Hylians, Gorons, Zoras, and Gerudos moved to and fro having the times of their lives. Though it was a day of remembrance and mourning, happiness and merriment filled the air.

"So what should we do first?" asked Malon as the three of them walked around. "I still have some time before the contest."

"I want to check out the stalls," said Zelda. "I want to see what exotic things are for sale."

"Well why don't the two of you go ahead then," said Link. "I'll catch up with you later. I need to get some food in my stomach."

"Alright, see you later then."

Zelda gave Link a kiss on the cheek before she and Malon ran off to look at all the stands. As they went off, Link started looking around for the commissary. He saw it on the small cliff overlooking Zora's River and headed that way. He got himself a mug of ale and some chicken, and then sat down to enjoy his meal. As he sat there, Link looked all around Hyrule Field.

Over by the cemetery, Link could see hundreds of mourners gathering by the graves of their loved ones. He could make out widows and children, parents and grandparents, entire families paying their respects to those who gallantly gave their lives. Many of them brought small bouquets of flowers and placed them down in front of the tombstones. Others brought flags, candles, and some even brought small wooden replicas of weapons to symbolize how and why they had given their lives. Though all the commotion and music coming from the festival made it impossible to hear, Link could see that many tears were being wept at the cemetery.

Taking a bite out of his chicken, Link now started looking around for some familiar faces. It didn't take him long to spot Ruto, Darunia, and Nabooru enjoying themselves. As the respective leaders of their peoples though, they were hanging around with King Hyrule, each with their own personal guards accompanying them. Link didn't see any of the other Sages, save for Zelda, but he was sure that Impa was sneaking around someplace. As much of a killjoy Impa was, Link knew that even she wouldn't be able to resist coming. Of course, Link knew that she would probably use the excuse that she was providing extra security for Zelda.

The all too familiar sound of metal upon metal now drifted to Link's ears, and he turned to see that the sword contest had already begun. There were two young men battling it out in a large circle near Lon Lon Ranch. They were dressed in just simple chain mail, but since you weren't supposed to kill your opponent the mail was fine. It was only there in case of accidents. Already a large crowd had gathered around the combatants, but Link knew that the real crowds wouldn't start showing up until the final rounds of the contest.

Having finished nearly all of his chicken, Link now started looking for Zelda and Malon. It didn't take him long to find Zelda zipping from stall to stall. His jaw nearly dropped in shock when he saw a servant trailing after her with packages piled so high that he looked like he was about to collapse under the weight of it all. Link just simply smacked his hand against his forehead and laughed. Zelda couldn't have been gone for more than fifteen minutes, yet it looked like she had already bought everything possible.

Malon was right behind her, but all she had was one small bag that she could easily carry around her shoulder. Knowing her Link guessed that Malon had bought some sort of jewelry or other trinket. Malon wasn't one to go for pretty dresses or other such clothing. She preferred the simpler things, probably because she was always engaging in activities that would ruin the clothes. Zelda did enjoy buying pretty clothing though, but as Link sat there and thought about it Zelda engaged in basically the same activities as Malon. A realization then popped into Link's head; every girl he has ever been friends with has been a tomboy.

Chuckling at the thought Link finished his meal, chugged what was left in his mug, and then headed over to Zelda and Malon. As Link headed down the hill he noticed that the crowds had gotten larger since they first arrived. He quickly lost sight of Zelda and Malon, but he knew exactly where to find them. Fighting his way through the throngs of people, Link soon found himself face to face with Zelda, who wore a big smile when she saw him. Malon, however, was no where in sight.

"It's about time you showed up," Zelda jested. "I need another pair of arms to carry all the stuff I'm buying."

"Don't you think you're going a little overboard?" Link asked with a smile.

"There's no such thing as going overboard."

"Of course there isn't. So, where did Malon run off to?"

"Oh, she headed over to the stables to get ready for the contest. The first round is about to start. You know, it was really nice of you to let her use Epona."

"Epona was hers originally, and if you want to get technical I did kind of steal her. It's the least I can do. Besides, she's going to need all the help she can get. Horseback archery is still new to her. Not only that, but there are a lot of Gerudo participating in that contest, and I've seen their skills first hand. They're no joke."

"What do you say we go wish her some luck then?"

"Sounds good to me."

Zelda instructed the servant to bring all the goods she had bought to the castle, and then she and Link made their way toward Lon Lon Ranch. It's stable was currently being used to house the horses for the competition as well as the horses of those who had traveled to the festival. At the entrance to the ranch and around the stable also were guards. Not that anyone was likely to do it, the guards were there nonetheless to make sure that none of the horses were drugged or otherwise sabotaged.

Link and Zelda walked into the ranch without any problems and headed straight for the stables. They were both amazed by the number of horses being kept there. Both of them just smirked as they thought of how much money Talon was making on this deal. It didn't take Link long to spot Epona, who upon seeing him let out a neigh of joy. Malon was no where in sight, so they figured that she was off getting Epona's saddle and everything ready. As Link and Zelda walked up to Epona, they both noticed a large black stallion that looked oddly familiar standing next to her.

"Hey Link," began Zelda as she stared at the horse, "is that . . ."

"Chiron?" Link asked more of the horse than to answering Zelda's question.

"Well it's certainly not Mr. Ed," came a familiar and welcome voice from behind them.

Link and Zelda both turned around with smiles on their faces to see Navi standing there behind them. Navi had changed somewhat in the past year though, and was almost at first not recognizable. Her long brown hair was now cut short, and her golden armor had been painted black. Link got over his initial shock and walked over and hugged Navi, who in turn returned the hug. Zelda just stood their dumbstruck as she stared at the black armor.

"It's so good to see you again," Link exclaimed with joy. "Wow, you sure have changed."

"Yeah well, the hair was becoming annoying to take care of, and it was also a hindrance in fights. I like it better this way," Navi replied to Link. Then, turning to Zelda she said, "Hey Zelda, it's good to see you again. So has Link been treating you well?"

"Ye . . . yeah, he has," Zelda replied slowly. "Wh . . . what happened to your armor?"

"Oh, this? I did it as a way of mourning Gerik; you know, the same way a widow would wear black. It's really handy at nighttime."

"Zelda, are you alright?" Link asked as he noticed her expression.

"Of . . . of course. I'm um . . . uh . . . going to go find Malon now. I'll catch up with you later."

Malon quickly walked right past the two of them leaving them standing there staring after her with questioning expressions on their faces. When she was finally out of sight, Link and Navi looked at each other and shrugged.

"What's up with her?" asked Navi.

"I don't know," Link replied, some concern showing in his voice. "That was very weird."

"So where is Malon anyway?"

"She's preparing for her competition. She's going to ride Epona in the horseback archery contest."

"Wow, her skills have improved that much in the past year?"

"Well, not really. Technically she's the underdog. If she had stuck with regular archery she would've won hands down. She wants a challenge though. Don't ask me."

"So how come Malon's going to be riding Epona instead of you?"

"I didn't sign up for any of the contests. I'm not exactly in the mood. Besides, half of them I would win with no problem, and where's the fun in that?"

"I guess you have a point. So what's been going on while I've been away? I want to hear everything."

Link begins to explain all the changes and goings-on that have been happening since Navi's been away as the two of them walk out of the ranch together. Once out upon Hyrule Field, Link is able to show rather than tell Navi about some of the changes. The crowds of people enjoying the festival had grown even more. As Link looks about him, he sees that the spectators of the sword contest had grown considerably, indicating that it was nearing completion. He also notices a new crowd of people gathered. The twang of bowstrings indicates that the regular archery contest had begun.

It is by the archery contest that Link sees Zelda. She is standing there with Malon, and it appears to Link that she is talking to Malon quite frantically. Link signals to Navi, who by this time had become fascinated by the festival, and the two of them make their way over to Zelda and Malon. As they approach Link notices Malon shaking her head. He then notices Zelda slyly point behind Malon, and Malon sighs as she turns around. Upon seeing Link and Navi walking over however, Malon's posture straightens and her eyes grow wide.

"Navi, it's so good to see you again," Malon says when they are within earshot, though she remains wide-eyed.

"Hey Malon," Navi called back, and then noticing her outfit said, "well don't you look like the professional archer. If I didn't know better I'd say you were part of the army."

"I'm not the only one with a new outfit apparently. What happened with your gold armor?"

"What's everyone's fascination with my armor? Can't a girl be in mourning for the man she loves?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it. It's just that it's such a contrast to the gold. Hey, what's with all the commotion?"

A loud commotion of fear and worry had sprung up from those gathered at the center of the festival. Link, Zelda, Malon, and Navi all turned to see what was happening. The ground was covered in a black shadow that extended all the way back to the Kokiri Forest. The shadow was quickly moving forward, leaving everything in darkness. As the shadow reached them, they looked up into the sky.

The sun was slowly being covered, and as more and more of the sun was being blacked out more and more of Hyrule was falling into shadow. It didn't take long for the sun to be completely covered. With all of Hyrule now in shadow, fear and worry began gripping the hearts of everyone gathered. As they all looked around them trying to figure out what was happening, the sounds of neighing from behind them caught their attention.

Everyone turned around to the sight of twelve black stallions standing in a row behind Lon Lon Ranch. The stallions heads were covered in silver armor with a sharp point resembling a horn attached to the muzzle. Sitting atop the horses were men in full body armor. The sight of them brought fear into many because of their resemblance to the Darknuts. These warriors however, wore black armor, and were slightly smaller.

In front of these warriors was another horse. This horse was a skeleton draped in black cloth, it's hooves aflame. It's eyes were like black coals. Atop this horse sat a man covered in a black robe. Not one part of his body could be seen, and his face was hidden in the shadow of his hood.


	5. An Unexpected Martyr

"What is the meaning of this!" demanded King Hyrule as he pushed through the gathered crowds accompanied on either side by his Royal Guard. "Who are you! What do you want!"

The only response the king received was a loud hissing noise as of a sharp intake of breath that came from the robed figure. The twelve warriors behind him remained silent, the only noise coming from their direction that of their horses snorting. Silence reigned over all those gathered, and was broken only by small, low murmurs as the people tried to figure out what was going on.

"I am the king of Hyrule, and I refuse to be ignored like this!" shouted the now enraged king. "I demand an answer!"

"Foolish mortal," the robed figure finally responded in a familiar, yet sinister voice. "You dare to speak to me with such insolence. You will soon learn your place, you all will."

"Whoever you are, I will not stand for this!"

"I am death incarnate, the bringer of sorrows, the herald of shadows, the sower of deception, the harbinger of Hyrule's demise. My Master's will shall be done, and none shall stand in my way. All who attempt to do so will face certain doom."

"That does it! Guards, arrest that man and his companions!"

Two nearby knights lowered their pikes and slowly walked over to the robed figure. The man just turned his hidden face towards the knights and laughed. He then pulled a magical staff out from under his robes and pointed it at the knights. Before anyone could react, the staff emitted a bright flash which incinerated the two knights, their armor and pikes, which were seemingly unharmed, collapsing down onto the piles of dust that the knights had now become. Cries of shock and outrage erupted among the people of Hyrule.

"Do not tempt the power of my Master," laughed the robed figure. "His power knows no limits."

"You son of a bitch," was all King Hyrule could manage to say as he stared at the remains of his knights.

"Ah, the three heroes of the War of the Triforce," the robed figure now said ignoring King Hyrule and turning to where Link, Zelda, Malon, and Navi stood. "The legendary Hero of Time Link, the seventh sage Zelda, and the mystical Guardian of the Triforce Navi. Tell me, do you really consider what you accomplished one year ago a victory?"

Link, Navi, and Zelda just stood there silently as they stared at the robed figure. They didn't know how to respond. Zelda stared at the robed figure half-mindedly, a look of shock on her face. Navi meanwhile, was staring at him with a look of complete contempt, and it was evident at how she hovered her hand over the hilt of her sword that she wanted a piece of him. Link had turned away from the figure to look at the still smoking piles of dust that had once been knights. Anger was welling up within him, but Link was fighting to suppress it.

"I take it by your silence that you know I am correct," the figure continued with a tinge of laughter. "Hyrule is but a ghost of its former glory. The land remains scarred, and those lost can never be replaced. Fear and despair, the kingdom is rank with it. It feeds my Master. It would have been far better for you to just surrender to Lord Arcana one year ago. Maybe then you'd have a least had a chance, but now all that you've succeeded in doing is handing the entire kingdom over to my Master."

"If you think the people of Hyrule will just stand by and let you conquer us, then you're in for a rude awakening," proclaimed King Hyrule with pride. "We defeated an army that was over ten times our size last year, and we are more prepared now then we've ever been. I will see Hyrule burnt to the ground and it's people dead long before I let someone conquer it!"

"Just the reaction I was expecting. In fact, I'd prefer it if you put up a fight. It'll make our victory all the more sweeter. Of course, every war needs a martyr."

In a lightening fast move, the robed figure reached into his robes and then tossed a dagger straight for King Hyrule. It happened so quickly and the dagger was flying through the air so fast that no one could respond in time. Just before the dagger reached King Hyrule, Impa teleported out of nowhere directly in front of the king in a puff of smoke. Her sword was out and in midair where the dagger was flying, but she was a split second too late. The dagger had already passed by her and it slammed right into King Hyrule's left shoulder.

The king cried out in pain before falling to the ground in extreme agony. Impa quickly turned around and knelt beside him, as did his Royal Guards. The people of Hyrule were silent as they looked on. Impa immediately reached out and pulled the dagger free from his shoulder. The dagger was serrated and dug into his shoulder quite deeply, so removing it was not an easy task. When Impa removed the dagger and looked at it, her eyes went wide and mouth dropped open. She just sat there dumbstruck as she stared at the blade of the dagger which was covered in the king's blood, as well as something else.

"KILL THEM!" shouted Impa in a fit of rage, her face filled with bloodlust. "KILL THEM ALL!"

All over Hyrule Field Hylian knights and Gerudo warriors drew their swords and charged toward the robed figure and his twelve lackeys while Gorons and Zoras, whose natural bodies were their weapons, just charged forward. Meanwhile, Impa along with the Royal Guards started carrying a now unconscious King Hyrule back to the castle. The robed figure just sat atop his skeletal horse laughing as he watched them. When he felt that they had come close enough, he took the magic staff that was still in his hands and tossed it to the ground before the charging horde.

The staff hit the ground with a corresponding shockwave accompanying it. The shockwave wasn't enough to knock anyone down, but it did stop them from charging. The ground then began to shake and open up all over Hyrule Field. From where the ground split, pairs of skeletal hands emerged clutching the edges of the cracks. The skeletal warriors that emerged closely resembled Stalfos, but Link knew that they were different.

The warriors that now stood before them were regular sized skeletons unlike the huge and unnatural sized bodies of the Stalfos. No clothing or armor, torn or otherwise, adorned their bodies. Metal helmets that covered the entire head save for the face was all they wore. In one hand they held a round shield that had spikes lining the edge, and in the other was a long, extremely sharp, crooked shaped sword. Their eyes were black coals that were literally on fire. They gave a malicious grin before raising their swords and beginning the attack.

The skeletal warriors were scattered all over Hyrule Field making the unarmed and defenseless citizens of Hyrule easy prey. The skeletons didn't bother going after anyone armed. They immediately began cutting down helpless men, women, children, and even the elderly mercilessly. In fact, they even seemed to be reveling in the screams of the people as they sliced them open spilling their blood and guts all over Hyrule Field. Not a person was safe from their onslaught, and the more handicapped a person seemed to be the more they were a target.

Hylian knights quickly rushed forward to protect their citizens, but only enough knights had been on duty at the festival to prevent minor skirmishes. They weren't prepared for a full-scale battle. Even the Gerudo were helpless. Only those Gerudo warriors that were to help as guards of the festival brought any sort of weapon with them. The rest were unarmed, but they were skilled in at least some hand-to-hand combat to protect themselves, no matter how futile, with.

Since the Gorons used their brute strength in battle, they didn't need weapons. Also, since their bodies were impervious to sword attacks every Goron gathered charged straight at the skeletal warriors. Since the Zora's fins were their weapons, all of the Zora gathered joined the fight as well. They weren't impervious to attacks like the Gorons were however, so they stayed away from the fighting using their fins as ranged weapons.

Everyone soon realized though, that it didn't matter whether you had a weapon or not. It only allowed you to defend yourself. No matter how many times the skeletons were chopped up or pulverized by the Gorons, their bodies immediately reformed afterwards. Some skeletal warriors had every bone removed from their bodies only to have the bones fly up into the air afterwards and come back together. Some Gorons tried a new tactic by crushing the bones into dust, but the dust would just fly up into the air, solidify into the bone it had once been, and reattach itself to the warrior.

Zelda, Malon, and Navi immediately entered the fray as soon as the battle had begun. Malon fired arrow after arrow at the skeletons aiming directly at their skulls. She had no better luck than anyone else. When the arrows hit they would cause the enemy they hit to flinch, but other than that it remained unharmed. Zelda was using every magical spell in her arsenal. She threw fire spells, ice spells, wind spells, and earth spells; all of them with no success. The fire brushed off harmlessly, the wind slowed them, the earth broke them only to have them reform, and the ice stopped them in their tracks for only a few measly seconds. Navi was using a combination of her magic and sword to no avail.

Link was glued to the same spot he had been standing in when the robed figure first arrived. He was completely unarmed since he felt that there would be no need for any weapons. As he stood there listening to the cries of terror of innocent civilians running for their lives and the gurgling of bloody demises, the anger continued to well up within Link. He continued to keep it in check, but he could no longer stand by and do nothing. Searching around him, Link picked up the pike of a fallen knight and charged into the fray.

He ran with furious speed straight for the closest skeleton. He swung the pike down low sweeping the skeleton off its feet. Link didn't stay and watch as the skeleton fell to pieces upon hitting the ground and then immediately reform. He had already seen that conventional means were not killing them, and to wait for the skeleton to reform while so many more needed his help would be foolish. He just headed for the next one taking it's head right off it's shoulders with a strong swing of the pike.

The sounds of bells could now be heard in the distance. The alarm had now been raised and soon reinforcements would be arriving from the castle. In the long run it was pointless since they couldn't kill the skeletal warriors, but if they could hold them off long enough to allow the civilians to escape that would be enough. Link now brought his pike down hard upon the skull of another warrior, cracking the skull but also smashing the pike asunder in the process. Weaponless once again, Link performed a number of rolls and jumps to avoid being killed as he searched for another weapon.

Link soon spotted several bows and quivers of arrows thrown carelessly around where the archery contest had been taking place. Since conventional means weren't working, Link decided to try some unconventional by means of his magic arrows. Link sidestepped a strike meant to cleave his head in two and then bolted toward the bows and arrows. By this time the reinforcements had arrived and joined the fighting. The metal upon metal of swords clashing filled the entire area. It brought terrible memories to many, but it was certainly better than hearing the cries of innocents being slaughtered.

Just as Link was about to reach his destination, a skeleton reformed directly in front of him. Link was forced to stop short and quickly back flip as the skeleton swung its blade at him. Unfortunately, he didn't escape unscathed. The tip of the sword nicked him straight across the stomach. Luckily though, it didn't pierce deep enough into the skin. All Link was left with was a thin slice across his stomach, but it stung like hell and bled profusely despite its size.

Clutching his stomach to ensure he doesn't tear the wound wider, Link was forced to sidestep left and right as the skeleton swung at him over and over. Being pushed slowly back and unable to perform any fancy maneuvers, Link wondered how much time he had before another skeletal warrior stabbed him in the back. As Link inched closer and closer to the main battle, his desperation began to grow more and more.

An idea soon crept it's way into Link's head, but he feared the damage he might do to his wound by performing it. Knowing the only other alternative was death, Link quickly ducked underneath a sword swing, and immediately afterward performed a leg sweep. The skeleton was caught in its heel and tumbled backwards breaking into it's individual bones upon impact. Link's wound stung worse than before, but he bit through the pain and stood up. As he did so he picked up the shield of the warrior he just felled and tossed it at a skeletal warrior that was making its way over toward him. The shield cleaved the skeleton's head in half horizontally.

Before the two warriors could reform their bodies, Link made a dash to the archery contest. Since he didn't have time to be picky, he picked up the first bow he came across and a quiver of arrows. He quickly notched an arrow and aimed it at the two newly reformed skeletons he had just gotten away from. As they made there way over to Link, he transformed the arrow into a Fire Arrow and let it fly. The arrow hit its target square in the head causing it to stumble backwards slightly, but afterward it continued its advance.

Link quickly notched another arrow, this time transforming it into an Ice Arrow. He fired it at the second skeleton, and upon impacting on the skeleton's skull it became encased in a block of ice. Link's victory was short lived as the ice shattered seconds later leaving an unharmed skeletal warrior free to continue its advance. With only one option left, and the two skeletal warriors nearly upon him, Link notched one final arrow into his bow.

Transforming the arrow into a Light Arrow, Link released the arrow into the skull of the nearest of the two. The skeletal warrior emitted a deep, guttural sound upon being hit and froze in its tracks. It's hands opened up releasing the sword and shield in them. The warrior then became engulfed in a bright light and vaporized into a cloud of dust that didn't reform. The second warrior was close enough to be caught within the light and he vaporized as well. Link stared at the two piles of dust waiting for them to reform, but when they didn't an exasperated smile crossed his face.

"Zelda, Navi," he called out to them in joy, "use holy attacks. It kills them for good."

With Zelda and Navi more than capable enough to eliminate dozens of the skeletons with just a single attack now that they knew what to use, Link was free to pursue other matters. He notched another arrow, this time keeping it as just a regular arrow, and quickly turned to where the robed figure and twelve knights were only to find them gone. The area where they had stood was completely vacant, and not a trace of them having been there could be seen. All that remained was the staff that the robed figure had used to summon the skeletons, but as soon as the last skeletal warrior had been vanquished the staff disintegrated into thin air.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Link dropped the bow down next to the quiver of arrows and started making his way slowly toward the survivors. He once again clutched the open wound across his stomach as he walked with a slight limp. It didn't take long for his hand to once again become slick with his warm, free flowing blood. The wound already felt wider to him, and as he walked he could feel the skin tearing. Not wanting his stomach to split open, Link slowed his pace and began taking each step as carefully as he could.

As he looked about the still shadowed ground of Hyrule, a sense of dread and foreboding of things to come overcame him. Dead bodies littered the landscape. The old and the young, male or female, they were all cut down without prejudice. They were slaughtered like animals with no hint of remorse. They were sliced open with no compassion given. Many of them seemed to have bled to death from their wounds upon the ground rather than being felled by a clean blow.

Link stopped walking before the body of a dead woman. In her arms was what had to be her seven or eight year old son clutched in her arms. From the way the bodies were sprawled out, the mother had been running when stabbed. The point of entry appeared to be her back, and it went clean through her body, piercing her heart, and into the body of her son. She would've died instantly, but he would've still been alive though seriously injured. Unfortunately, the mother's body fell on top of her son crushing him and preventing him from escaping and getting help. Whatever the case, they were both dead now.

Lying several feet away from the pair was a little girl, a crooked, diagonal slice going from her shoulder all the way down to her waist. She was apparently alone since no other bodies save for the mother and son were near her, but whether they were related there was no way to tell. An elderly couple lay stricken nearby as well. The old man had apparently tried to fend the skeletal warriors off to protect his wife even though his better days were long behind him, but he had been knocked down onto a table and stabbed through the chest. The old woman then appeared to have thrown her body over her husband's and wept only to have been uncompassionately killed directly on top of him.

Link's focus returned to the mother and child and he slowly bent his body toward him. The little boy's hand was sticking out from underneath his mother as if he had been struggling to get free. Link picked up the small hand within his own and closed his hand around it. Already the body was beginning to grow cold.

"A grim sight, isn't it?" asked Navi morosely from behind him.

"I thought I had seen the worst that war had to offer during the War of the Triforce," Link started to say, sadness apparent in his voice, "but apparently I was wrong. Except for those drafted into the army, the civilians were kept far away from the fighting. The worst that happened to them was the loss of the homes. This . . . this is different though."

"They seemed to have been targeted specifically," Navi noted. "This wasn't a battle. It was a slaughter of innocent people; nothing more."

"Whoever we're dealing with is apparently one sick individual."

"Who, the robed figure or this mysterious "Master" that he works for?"

"Both," Link replied simply as he finally released the small boy's hand and stood up. "So where's Zelda?"

"She immediately headed up to the castle after the battle to go check on her father," Navi replied before seeing the dripping wound across Link's stomach. "Oh my god, you're wounded!"

"It's just a scratch," Link replied weakly and with a wince as he turned. "I have to go check on Zelda."

"Not before I heal that wound you're not. Now stand still; this will only take a second."

Navi removed Link's blood covered hand from his wound and bent down to examine it. She then placed the index finger of her right hand at the end of the wound and pressed firmly, causing Link to wince. The finger began to glow in a golden light as Navi slowly moved her finger across the length of the wound and although she was still pressing down upon the wound, Link felt no pain. The torn skin magically reformed in the wake of her finger leaving only a small thin line to indicate that there had ever been any sort of wound there.

"There you go," Navi said when she had finished, "all finished. That area will be a little tender for a few hours, but other than that you're back to normal. Now check on Zelda, and the king. I'm going to stay here and continue helping out."

Link just nodded before bolting across Hyrule Field and into Hyrule Market. Navi hadn't been kidding about the spot being tender, and although it didn't hurt him the area was sore which caused him to slow his pace a bit. Passing through Hyrule Market was like passing through a cemetery. There was no joy to be found anywhere. Sunken and sullen faces dominated the civilians who had escaped to the city for protection. Tears were being wept all over for the loved ones that they knew lay dead outside the city walls.

Link fought hard to ignore their suffering as he ran past. Just seeing the bodies themselves was trying enough for him, but to have to look upon the survivors who had lost someone was another story all together. He also had Zelda to worry about, and the king. Link had already seem too many friends and loved ones killed in battle, and King Hyrule was one person that he didn't want to see added to the list. He could also only imagine what sort of distress Zelda would go through if that happened.

When the Royal Guards posted outside the castle saw Link approaching, they knew exactly what he was up to and told him to head to the king's bedchamber as he ran past. Link thanked them without stopping and continued into the castle. The castle was still as deserted as it had been earlier that day, so it made it all the more easier for Link to reach the bedchamber.

When he got there he saw two Royal Guards posted outside the closed doors of the room and Zelda and Malon standing there before the doors expectantly. Zelda was standing there with a look of grave concern on her face. Her eyes looked as if they were about to burst into tears, but Link guessed that she was holding them back in case they were premature. Malon was standing next to her with her arm wrapped around Zelda's shoulders. She was apparently trying to comfort her in Link's absence.

Link now walked the remaining distance up to the bedchamber doors. His footsteps, though they were light, reverberated against the empty halls. Zelda turned to see Link, and upon spotting him ran at him with full speed. She collided with Link nearly spending him to the ground. She buried her head in his chest as Link wrapped his arms around her. She then looked up at him with worry in her eyes while Link looked down at her with a smile on his face.

Before either of them could say anything, the doors to the bedchamber opened slightly and Impa emerged quickly closing the doors behind her. Her head was hung low, and for the first time in his life Link could actually read real emotions on her face. She looked greatly saddened, but that was only an underlying emotion. On top of that was shock and concern, but it didn't look like it was concern for the king. When she finally looked up and saw Link and Zelda, she quickly made her way over to them, each step she took serious.

"How's my father?" asked Zelda anxiously as she released Link and turned toward Impa.

"I'm sorry Zelda," Impa replied. "The dagger was coated in a very rare, and very deadly poison. There is no cure. Not even magic can save your father now. I truly am sorry. I . . . I . . ."

It appeared as if Impa wanted to say something else, something important, but was unable to. Zelda meanwhile had broken down into tears at this point. She was now sitting on the ground a total wreck. Malon had run over and was now trying to console Zelda, but it was to no avail. Link knew that he should also be consoling Zelda, but he couldn't help but stand there and stare at Impa. By the way she stood Link could tell that she was hiding something. He then watched as Impa walked past them without another word and started walking down the hallway.

"Where are you going?" Link asked her.

"I have something I need to take care of," Impa replied absently as she took a Deku Nut out of her pocket, tossed it to the ground, and vanished.


	6. A Sheikah's Worst Fear

Impa rematerialized outside the entrance to the Shadow Temple. The low pop of her entrance echoed off the dank, stone walls around her. The cave was completely devoid of light, and outside Hyrule was still veiled in total darkness. The ring of torches surrounding Impa stood there unlit and waiting. As a result, the large stone door before her was down barring entrance into the temple.

Impa's eyes cut through the darkness as she stood in the center of the ring of torches staring intently at the door with unblinking eyes. Her face was long and drawn, and she stood there as stiff as a board. The only movement coming from her came from her hands which trembled at her sides as she continued to stare at the door with unwavering eyes. For the first time in her life, fear coursed through Impa's veins.

The dagger, the precision in which it had been thrown, and the poison that it had been coated in all awakened within Impa something that had been buried long ago. The dagger had been one thing on it's own, easily copied but still nonetheless suspicious, but the poison had clinched it for her despite its impossibility. Whatever the case, either way Impa knew that the answer she sought lied beyond that door, and it was what she might find that frightened her.

Knowing that only more harm would come to Hyrule if she ignored this, Impa raised her still trembling hand and snapped her fingers. The torches all around her instantly burst into flame. As the flames of the torches danced off the cave walls, the door began to slowly ascend into the ceiling. The grinding noise of rock against rock was earsplitting in the large expanse, yet Impa held her ground. The area around the door shook as it rose, and dust and small particles of rock fell to the ground. When the door was fully raised, Impa steeled herself and walked through the entrance, disappearing into the darkness beyond.

As the Sage of the Shadow Temple, Impa was able to easily and stealthily move throughout the temple's interior. None of the temple's traps were activated as Impa sped past them at blinding speed. The temple's guardians never even gave her a second glance. As far as Impa was concerned as she moved through the temple, nothing was wrong or out of the ordinary. The deeper she went though, the more her sense of dread grew.

It wasn't long before she was standing before the door that led to the room in which Link defeated Bongo Bongo in nearly eight years earlier. Behind this door rested the answer that she sought. The door flew open at her command and just as quickly slammed shut once she was through. The room was bare except for a large hole in the center of the room, the same way it was when Link had come through here. Impa edged her way over to the edge of the hole and peered over it. It was too dark and too far to see the arena down below. Taking a deep breath though, Impa stood up and jumped down.

Warm, stagnant air rushed past Impa as she plunged down the pit at an ever increasing speed. Her eyes were closed and her body was stiff as she made her descent. Rather than seeing, she pictured the chamber below in her mind. She felt the area around her as she dropped and knew exactly how far from the bottom she was. Just before reaching the ground, Impa front flipped in mid-air landing on her feet in a crouched position with her right hand hovering over the hilt of the sword strapped to her back as if in anticipation of an attack.

Impa's eyes darted back and forth across the length of the arena as she remained in that position. The chamber was only dimly lit, and the only sound came from the bubbling acid that surrounded the arena she currently stood in. Though nothing seemed out of the ordinary, Impa sensed something behind her and quickly whipped her body around, this time actually grabbing the hilt of her sword.

Standing there before her was the robed figure. His hood was up still concealing his face, and the rest of the robe was wrapped around his body revealing nothing. It was as if the robe was just floating there. He made neither a sound nor a move when Impa turned to face him. Keeping her eyes on him at all times, Impa slowly stood up, but not once did she loosen her grip upon her sword. Her eyes remained fixated on him, yet despite her best efforts she couldn't stop her hands from shaking ever so slightly.

"Well, well, well," the robed figure finally said with a laugh, "if it isn't Impa. Long time no see 'old friend.' How many years has it been?"

"It is you then," Impa replied as monotonously as she could. "It can't be though. You're . . . you're . . ."

"Dead!? Yes well, things aren't always the way they seem; now are they? You saw my body yes, but you never actually saw me get killed; now did you?"

"This is impossible! You're nothing more than an illusion, a trick."

"There is no such thing as the impossible, only the improbable. Remember that?"

"How dare you speak my own teachings back to me!"

"Aw, did my words strike a nerve? But really, what's with all this anger? Remember, while anger can be a valuable ally, it can easily become a hindrance in the heat of battle as well. Besides, there's nothing to be angry about. A teacher should be showing joy and pride in the fact that her student remembers all that she has taught him."

"Then why have you forsaken the sacred oaths that you took? You were supposed to protect the Royal Family, NOT KILL ITS KING!"

"Ah, but not every Sheikah has followed the oaths. There have been those who fell from grace; those who took another path."

Impa's eyes opened wide with shock at his words. She stood there unable to breath for several seconds. Impa then lowered her head humbly as the realization of the robed figure's words hit her. Her grip upon her sword was finally released and she brought her hand up to her mouth as if in thought.

"You know then, don't you?" Impa finally said morosely as she slowly raised her head.

"Yes, I do," the robed figure replied, all amusement gone from his voice. "At first I couldn't figure out why you had wanted to hide that from me, but now I know. You never trusted me. You thought I would follow their path."

"No, I was trying to protect you. You were to be the future of the Sheikah. You were to be the beginning of a new generation of Sheikah; a generation that would not have to suffer the crimes of its predecessors. I would've trusted you with my life."

"Amusing, truly amusing. How can you stand there and spew forth those lies knowing that you and I are the only true Sheikahs left?"

"No," Impa said, her tone turning dark, "for some reason you are still alive, but you are no longer a Sheikah. You lost claim to that title the second you raised your fist against Hyrule. Whoever, or whatever you are now, you're a creation of this 'Master' of yours."

"Oh my god," he chuckled, "you don't know who he is. You haven't figured it out yet. You must be slipping Impa, to have not noticed him. You didn't have any trouble realizing who it was the last time I'm sure."

With a wary eye kept on the robed figure, Impa felt out with her senses. At first nothing came to her, but then it hit her like a sack of bricks. She sensed a very dark, and very evil presence from within the charred remains of the Lost Woods. Her body began to tremble, and her eyes and mouth both opened wide with fear.

"No!" she cried. "How can this be? He's dead as well. It's . . . it's simply impossible."

"Oh, I assure you that it is not. Just think, not only did you not see him die, but you never saw a body either. Didn't that ring a bell in that little head of yours?"

"How could you have joined forces with HIM? You are not the man I once knew, not anymore. Whatever you two are planning, it ends here."

"I don't think so. Like you said, it's time for the new generation of Sheikah to rise up, and in order to do that the older generation must die."

"Do you honestly believe that you can defeat the person who trained you herself? I know all your moves and exactly what you're capable of."

"Wrong, you only know half my moves. Remember, in Sheikah training the master only teaches their apprentice the basics. It is then up to the apprentice to go off on their own to complete their training. In this fashion no two Sheikah will ever be alike, and so no one technique can wipe out the entire Sheikah race. You only know half my moves, while I on the other hand know all of yours."

"If you truly believe that you witnessed all that I am capable of, then you severely underestimate me."

"Well then, it looks like things are about to get very interesting. It's time to see if the student has surpassed the master."

Even before the robed figure had finished speaking, his robes flew open and five small daggers came speeding toward Impa. Impa was ready for this and quickly unsheathed her sword. She then effortlessly deflected all five daggers before they could get anywhere near her. After deflecting the daggers, Impa quickly looked up only to find that the robed figure was no longer standing there.

Impa sensed rather than felt the presence of the robed figure directly behind her and immediately placed her sword behind her blocking the strike that would have cleaved her head cleanly off otherwise. She then whipped her body around to face the robed figure directly, her sword making a horizontal slash as she spun. The robed figure blocked the attack, and he then jumped up high into the air. Impa was thrown off by the height of his jump and barely had any time to defend herself when he came barreling back down with his sword held out before him. The two swords met and both the robed figure and Impa were pushed back by the impact.

Wanting to show him the true might of a Sheikah master, Impa gripped the hilt of her sword in both hands and rushed toward the robed figure at blinding speed before he could recover. Impa underestimated him however. The robed figure had already recovered and blocked Impa's swing at him despite the speed of her attack. Impa's eyes revealed shock as the two of them stood there with their blades locked together, and though she couldn't see it Impa was sure that he was smiling beneath his hood.

With a show of strength the robed figure pushed Impa back and immediately followed it up with a thrust attack aimed at Impa's stomach. Impa parried the thrust, and then back flipped out of his attack range. He wasn't going to let her get away so easily though, and charged right at her. As Impa came out of her back flip she was greeted with the sight of the robed figure's sword making a horizontal swing at her neck.

Impa didn't have enough time to bring her sword up to block the attack. She barely managed to tilt her head back as the cold, gleaming steel of the robed figure's sword swung past barely an inch above her face. Not allowing him the time to perform another attack, Impa quickly dropped to the ground and tried a leg sweep. The robed figure jumped up to avoid the attack and went into a front flip. As he came out of the flip he had his sword held out in front of him and pointed down toward the ground at Impa.

Impa rolled out of the way as his sword came crashing down upon the ground, the tip of the sword becoming jammed in the floor of the arena. While he struggled to free his sword, Impa stood up, gripped the hilt of her sword tightly, and charged at the robed figure. He managed to free his sword just in time to block Impa's attack, but Impa had no intentions of letting him off that easily. With her first strike blocked, she swung her sword again and again. Each attack she made the robed figure easily blocked, but the fury in which she was attacking left no room for him to make a counter-attack.

As Impa's attacks increased, she was slowly pushing the robed figure back. He tried to put some distance between them, but Impa refused to allow the small gap between them to grow even an inch. She stood her ground and pounded away upon the robed figure's sword. The strength and speed of her attacks had increased so much by this point that sparks shot forth from each impact of the two swords.

Impa now smiled as she watched the robed figure get ever closer to the edge of the arena. Once there he would have no place to go except into the bubbling acid surrounding them. Impa stepped up her attacks even more. She could sense the desperation now growing heavily within the robed figure. In just a few more seconds a major threat to Hyrule would be eliminated. Putting all her strength into one last swing, she made a horizontal slash that pushed the robed figure back making him teeter on the edge of the arena when he blocked it.

Impa watched with a smirk as the robed figure tried to keep his balance. He was defenseless as he teetered back and forth, and even though Impa could have just easily shoved him off and into the acid she decided to take pity and give him a warrior's death. With both hands gripping her sword, Impa held her blade perpendicular to her body and thrust her blade at his chest. Just before the blade pierced his body however, the robed figure vanished into thin air. Impa stumbled forward a few steps from her momentum, but after regaining her balance she stood there awestruck at his disappearance.

Just then Impa was kicked hard in her back. Caught off guard, the kick knocked her off her feet and she went flying face down over the edge of the arena. Impa's eyes opened wide as she watched the green, bubbling, acid grow closer and closer. She closed her eyes, and just as her body was about to come into contact with the acid, she teleported out of harm. She reappeared high above the arena. Just as she was about to begin falling, Impa reached into her belt and pulled out several daggers. She spotted the robed figure down below searching frantically for her, and quickly tossed the daggers at him before he realized where she was.

The daggers cut through the air at blinding speed. The robed figure heard the low whistle of their approach and looked up to see the rain of sharp, metal death fast approaching. Knowing their was no time to get away, the robed figure lowered his head down toward the ground and braced his body for the immense pain he was about to feel, yet it never came. The daggers slammed down around him, pinning the edges of his robe to the ground. The robed figure laughed at Impa's pitiful attempt to take his life and looked back up only to find Impa speeding down toward him with her sword ready to cleave him in two.

The robed figure turned to get out of Impa's way, but his robe was pinned down tightly. He tried going in the opposite direction, but still he couldn't budge. He looked back up to see Impa now filling his entire view, his eyes focused on the sword aimed right at his head. In desperation he summoned all his strength and rolled his body forward ripping nearly all of his robe off of his body. He rolled several feet away as Impa stymied her attack and landed gracefully upon her feet. With her sword held high she then turned to look upon the robed figure as he scrambled up off the ground.

With the greater majority of his robe now torn off, Impa had a good view of the robed figure's muscular body. The Sheikah outfit he wore was a tattered mess. Holes and slash marks were abundant, and the Sheikah eye on his chest, the symbol of the Sheikah people, was gashed as if a sword had pierced it. It's once proud blue color was now a pale shade that was covered in dried dirt and blood. His skin was extremely pale, yet it held a bluish hue to it that was unnatural. His hood still remained connected to the roughly foot long length of robe that lingered and continued to keep his face hidden in shadow.

Impa watched as he stood there, panting and holding his sword in a defensive stance while he sized her up. Impa was panting as well. She could not believe how skilled he had become since the last time she saw him. Impa stood sizing him up as well, trying to decide what was the best course of action to take next. Slowly, the two of them began to circle each other as they continued their stalemate. Each step they took was slow and calculated, and they stared at each other intently. Impa was positive that underneath that hood his eyes were meeting hers.

In a move designed to both surprise and throw off Impa's guard, the robed figure began to yell as he charged straight for her, twirling his sword as he did so. Impa planted her feet firmly on the ground and turned her attention to the robed figure's spinning blade. Her eyes followed its every movement, waiting for when it would strike. Impa kept her sword out before her on a slant ready to deflect any attack, both her hands gripping it tightly. The robed figure continued his yelling as he closed the distance between them, twirling his blade ever faster to throw Impa off.

As he came upon her he ceased twirling the sword and brought his arm out to his side for a horizontal attack. Impa immediately saw this and turned to intercept the attack only to watch instead with surprise as he tossed the sword out of his right hand and catch it in his left. Before Impa could react he swung away, the tip of his sword nicking Impa's side as she did her best to sidestep the swing. Impa screamed in pain but held her composure. Quickly recovering she turned and parried a thrust aimed at her chest.

Impa followed the parry up with an upward swing of her sword. The robed figure jumped back away from the attack, momentarily losing his balance. Impa capitalized on this and charged him. He blocked the first attack, but the strength of Impa's swing knocked his sword downward and left him open to a counter-attack. Impa saw this as well and quickly swung her sword. The robed figure jumped away, but not before suffering a deep slash across his arm. Unlike with Impa however, he never made a sound as the cold steel sliced through his flesh and blood spilled across the ground.

Ignoring the blood now flowing freely down his left arm, the robed figure readied his sword and jumped at Impa. Impa blocked the attack with ease despite being pushed back slightly by the impact. The robed figure meanwhile pushed off of the impact and jumped back out of the way in preparation for a counter-attack. Upon landing back on his feet he immediately charged Impa to ensure she didn't have any time to plan an attack of her own. He made a thrust at her, which she easily side-stepped, but his true intention was to make her sidestep so he had a clear shot at slicing her stomach open.

Impa saw the deception at the last second and quickly teleported out of his reach. When she reappeared she immediately adopted a defensive stance, yet the robed figure was nowhere in sight. Impa quickly spun 360 degrees in search of him, but the arena was empty. The only trace of him left was his already congealing blood upon the ground. Impa looked above her in anticipation of a copycat of her move, but there was no sign of him there either. Despite the relative safety she was in, not once did she relax her defenses.

"Coward!" Impa shouted into the empty chamber through her panting. "This is not how I trained you to be. I taught you to stand your ground and never give up, but I guess your precious 'Master' has taught you different values. I guess the student has not surpassed the master then."

As soon as Impa's last words left her lips, a dagger flew out of nowhere and jammed itself directly in the center of Impa's right hand. Impa screamed in agony as her sword fell from her grasp and clanged upon the ground beneath her. Blood gushed forth from the wound. Fighting through the pain, Impa reached over with her left hand to pull out the dagger. Before she could though, another dagger came flying out of nowhere piercing her left hand.

Impa screamed out again as blood now gushed forth from both her hands. The pain coursing through her body was so intense now that she was beginning to stagger. Just then there was the popping sound of the robed figure reappearing behind Impa. Before Impa could turn around however, the robed figure took his sword and slashed the backs of both of Impa's legs severing her Achilles tendons. Impa's legs collapsed underneath her and she slammed face down upon the ground with a crash. Meanwhile, the robed figure stood over her body laughing sinisterly.

With so much pain coursing through Impa, her body was slowly becoming numb to the pain. Her own warm blood began pooling underneath her. Impa was now gasping as her eyes started to become hazy. Still laughing, sporadically now, the robed figure kicked Impa hard in the side turning her body over so that she now rested on her back. He stared mirthfully at her pained face which had become blood covered when it had rested in the pool of blood beneath her.

"A coward you say," the robed figure laughed. "You should know better than anyone else the value of surprise attacks. After all, I did learn from the best. Besides, weren't you the one who fled from Ganon eight years ago when he conquered Hyrule? You know, before you said that I was no longer a Sheikah, but now I suppose neither are you. Sheikah's are warriors, but seeing as how you can now longer wield a weapon nor even stand, what kind of a warrior are you?"

"Just finish it already," Impa gurgled through a blood filled mouth. "End my life so that I can at least leave this world with some honor."

"If only it were that simple. I'd gladly give you a warrior's death, but my 'Master' has demanded that you be brought before him alive."

"What's the matter? Are you afraid to speak his name? Are you afraid to say . . ."

With a powerful right hook the robed figure knocked Impa unconscious before she could finish her sentence. He then sheathed his bloody sword and hoisted Impa's bloody and unconscious form onto his shoulders. With one short chuckle he took a Deku Nut out from his belt, tossed it at the ground, and in a bright flash both he and Impa were gone.


	7. A Kingdom in Peril

Having gone to retrieve the Master Sword and the Mirror Shield from his room, Link now stood before the sturdy, elaborate pine doors that led to the throne room. King Hyrule still rested within the confines of his bedchamber, his condition growing ever more worse by the minute. Luckily, the king was unconscious, so he did not have to feel the agonizing pain the poison was putting his body through. Zelda sat by his side weeping while Malon sat with her trying to console her as best she could. As far as Link knew Navi was still helping to cleanup Hyrule Field after the battle, and no sign of Impa had been seen since she disappeared.

Link steeled himself and then with both hands threw open the doors to the throne room. The throne room was a large, circular chamber. Its walls were draped from ceiling to floor in long, flowing red tapestries. The floor was made of pale blue-gray tiles, and in its center, made out of pure gold, was the Triforce. The walls domed toward the top, and at the very center of the ceiling was a skylight. Though normally filling the chamber with an excess of light, only shadows now entered. At the far end of the room rested King Hyrule's throne upon a small plinth of marble steps. At all times, day or night, the throne room glowed in a brilliant golden aura.

Just as Link had suspected even before opening the doors, the throne room was far from empty. As soon as the doors were flung open, the sounds of bickering from within assailed him. Link immediately recognized the voices as those belonging to King Hyrule's five chief advisors. The loud thump of the doors slamming open had apparently passed unnoticed by the advisors as they continued their bickering without pause. Sighing deeply, Link proceeded into the throne room with strong, confident steps.

Passing through the short alcove, Link spotted the mauve colored robes of the advisors over by the throne. They were standing in a circle quarreling amongst themselves not only by their mouths, but with their hands as well. Just looking at them made Link lower his head in disappointment. Link was not at all happy about seeing them, and he was actually quite surprised at their presence in the throne room. He had expected to find only three people awaiting him, Darunia, Ruto, and Nabooru, and that was because he had sent them there to wait for him.

Darunia, Ruto, and Nabooru stood off to the side of the room as if they were removed and ignored from the advisor's acknowledgment. They just stood there patiently, watching as the advisors quarreled amongst themselves. Link could instantly tell that none of them were at all happy by the intense scowls they wore on their faces. Though his entrance had gone unnoticed by the advisors, it hadn't by Darunia, Ruto, and Nabooru, each of whom turned and gave him a half-hearted smile as he approached. As Link walked toward them, he immediately knew why they wore their scowls as the expanse of the chamber made it clear to everyone just what the advisors were arguing about.

"With the King on his deathbed and the princess emotionally unstable," shouted the eldest of the advisors, "the kingdom is currently leaderless."

"That is not our biggest concern at the moment," yelled the advisor across from him. "The kingdom has just been attacked, and although it may have been minor it is a foreshadowing of things to come. We need to rally up the army, ready our defenses lest we let this new enemy overwhelm us while we squabble over who will lead the kingdom. I vote that we give immediate control over to the generals until Zelda can assume the throne."

"You would hand over the kingdom to the generals?!" shouted a third and utterly shocked advisor. "And tell me, who exactly would force the generals to give back control once this threat has passed? For that matter, what makes you think they wouldn't try to conquer Hyrule for themselves?"

"You both bring up good points," said the eldest advisor, "but our primary concern is and remains the fact that our throne remains empty. Without a strong leader to rally behind, the people will begin to lose faith."

"I couldn't agree with you more Advisor Belkin," Link said calm, cooly, and with a hint of sarcasm as he stepped toward them powerfully. "That is why I will take command until Zelda is stable enough to take the throne for herself."

All of a sudden the room became deafly quiet. Darunia, Ruto, and Nabooru were all slightly taken aback by Link's bold statement, yet they said nothing. The just stayed their ground and looked on waiting for what would happen next. Link just stood there proudly and confidently with his feet planted firmly on the ground and his shoulders held high. He kept his face as serious as possible as he stared at the advisors waiting for a response. The advisors, meanwhile, just stood there silently, staring back at Link with grave faces.

"And what exactly makes you think that we would hand over the kingdom to some petty little brat that crawled out of the forest," Advisor Belkin finally replied, his voice cold, malicious, and seething with hatred. "Sure, you may be an exceptional warrior, and you may have saved Hyrule countless times, but that only makes you fit to lead an army, not a kingdom. The princess may have taken a liking to you **boy**, but don't think for a second that it changes your status."

"Okay then," Link said calmly as he controlled the anger rising within him as best he could, "if not me, then who?"

"The five of us. We have been advising King Hyrule for years, and no one knows more about the running of this kingdom than us. We are more than capable of running Hyrule in his absence."

"An interesting proposition," Link replied feigning enthusiasm, "but I don't think so. I will be taking over, not you."

"You insolent brat!" shouted Advisor Belkin in anger. "Who do you think you are to be giving **us** orders?!"

"Fine then. How about we just go up to Zelda and ask her? Gee, I wonder whose side she'll take. Hmm, and you know, I also wonder who she's going to become enraged with for bringing such a petty matter before her in her time of distress."

Link just stood there with a wide smirk as he watched the color drain out of the faces of all five advisors. They just stood there completely speechless while Link crossed his arms smugly across his chest as he awaited an answer. Advisor Belkin looked as if he was about to say something, but thought better of it and remained silent. He just turned his head slightly to look upon the faces of the other advisors, all of whom nodded their heads solemnly when he looked upon them.

"Okay, you win," Advisor Belkin finally managed to choke out with hatred, his face still as pale as a ghost. "We give the kingdom of Hyrule over to you until Princess Zelda assumes the throne for herself."

"I thank you very much," Link replied with a malicious grin. "Now, as for my first decree, you are all hereby removed from your status as advisors."

"What?! You can't do this!"

"Oh, but I can. You gave me control, remember?"

"This is an outrage. You haven't been in control for even a minute and already you're power hungry."

"Wrong! You five are the power hungry ones. I've watched you manipulate the king for years, and I'll be damned if I'll let you manipulate Zelda when she takes the throne. You five are finished. Captain!"

At Link's command the Royal Guard that had been standing next to the throne stepped forward. He was clad in the usual armor of a Royal Guard save for the golden helm he wore on his head and the flowing blue cape that ran down his back. He stepped up to where the advisors stood and looked directly at Link.

"Captain Huntley," Link said acknowledging the Royal Guard, "get these five out of my sight."

"Right away," Captain Huntley replied with pleasure. "Guards, take them away!"

Three of the Royal Guards positioned around the room stepped forward. In their hands they each held a halberd which they lowered and pointed at the former advisors as they approached. Advisor Belkin and the others looked as if they were about to protest, but just one look at the three halberds being aimed at them was enough to quell their outrage. The Royal Guards took up positions around them and then proceeded to escort them out of the throne room. Following after them was Captain Huntley. He stopped just before the doors to the chamber and shut the doors after the others had left. Link watched the entire process with glee.

"Well, well, well," Nabooru said cheerfully from behind Link, "look who's all grown up."

"You've got that right," added Darunia with a hearty laugh. "Link, I've never seen you full of such confidence before. You've always been slightly reserved and have always held back. What you did just now took great courage. Looks like I'm going to have to start calling you 'big brother' from now on."

"Thanks," Link spit out as he was given one of Darunia's congratulatory slaps on the back," but that's not really necessary. The five of them are nothing more than high class aristocratic jerks. For years I've watched them give their so called advice to King Hyrule. Not once did I ever hear them speak out for the people. The only time they gave advice is when it benefitted themselves. That's not to say King Hyrule always listened to their advice, but he did more often than he should've. I wasn't going to allow them to manipulate Zelda as well."

"I always knew that you'd make a great king," Ruto smiled at him.

"Uh . . . well um . . . uh . . . thank you," Link said as his face blushed slightly, "but I'm still not a king, and it will still be some time before I am; if I ever become one that is. On to more pressing matters though."

"Yes, I agree," Darunia said, his usually cheerful disposition turning serious. "Whoever this new enemy is, it's a mystery to me."

"To me as well," added Nabooru. "Those skeletons, I've never seen anything like them. I've never even heard of anything like them before. There was something up with those twelve armored knights though. Something tells me that there's only the twelve of them, but I fear they may be the toughest enemies we've ever had to face. It also freaks me out how much they resemble Darknuts."

"Forget about them," said Ruto. "What about that robed dude on the skeleton horse? He was orchestrating the entire thing. We do know one thing though; he must only be a second-in-command. Didn't you notice how he referred to some sort of master?"

"Could this somehow be the work of Ganon?" Link asked. "I mean, I killed him and I saw him die, but that hasn't stopped him before."

"No, this can't be Ganon," said Nabooru. "Ganon is too egotistical. We would have sensed his return long before the attack. Whoever this threat is, he's hiding himself. I can't sense a damn thing."

"That's not good," Link said rubbing his chin in desperation. "Unfortunately, this is all the information we have to go by. Maybe when we're finished here you and the other Sages can gather and come up with some answers. For the time being though, what are we to do?"

"We have to defend our borders," Darunia said as if it was obvious. "I will lend you some warriors for the defense of the castle, but the majority of the Goron Army will stay to defend Death Mountain and Kakariko Village."

"I'll have the Zoras keep watch over Lake Hylia and patrol the entire length of Zoras River," said Ruto.

"As for the Gerudo, the majority of our army will be at your disposal," said Nabooru. "I'll keep a small contingent to defend our fortress and also ready the Desert Colossus to receive refugees should things go bad."

"Alright," replied Link, "that sounds like a sound plan. Luckily no one has returned to Hyrule Market yet so we won't have to worry about relocating them. I'll call up both the regular army and the reserves. We'll house them in Hyrule Market along with the soldiers you will provide. Now that we have our defense plans set, it's time to figure out what to do next."

Before anyone else could say another word, the doors to the throne room flew open, the impact of the doors slamming into the walls resounding throughout the chamber. Everyone in the room turned to look including the Royal Guards, several of whom headed to the door with their weapons ready. Coming through the doorway and into the room was Navi. She was panting heavily, and her face was covered in sweat. It looked as if she had run all the way from Hyrule Field up to the castle without pause.

Making her way over to Link groggily, Navi looked as if she was on the verge of collapse. Indeed she did collapse when she finally made it over to Link. Link quickly caught her in his arms. Navi's lips began moving frantically, but no sound escaped her lips. Link immediately ordered one of the guards to go get some water. Upon his return Link handed the water over to Navi, who drank it greedily.

"Outside . . . to the South . . .danger," was all Navi managed to say.

Link quickly yet carefully laid Navi down upon the ground and ran out of the throne room; Darunia, Ruto, and Nabooru hot on his heels. As Link burst into the hallway, he could see that the entire castle was abuzz with hysteria. Knights, servants, and nobles were running through the castle's labyrinthine hallways as if they were cuccos with their heads cut off. Even though there was great commotion, Link was unable to get any answers as to what was happening other than blank and stunned faces or the same kind of gibberish that Navi had uttered. He did notice, however, that everyone was heading either to one of the castle's balconies or outside the castle itself.

The first sight to greet Link as he emerged onto the first balcony he came across that faced the South was a giant flock of various birds flying overhead at an incredible speed. Their cawing was filled with fright and was the only sound Link could hear until they had all flown by. Turning toward the South where the birds had fled from, Link was taken aback at the sight of a huge black tower rising out of the ruins of the Lost Woods. Though normally the distance would be too great to see anything, the tower was anything but unnoticeable as it rose high into the sky.

It was a single, circular tower that was ascending into the sky. Even at this distance the tower looked huge, which could only mean that it was actually enormous. Though the tower was black, it was a glossy black that cut through the shadows Hyrule had been engulfed in. It's surface appeared to be smooth, but since it was all the way across the kingdom it was impossible to be sure or even tell anything else about it.

"Well, at least now we know where the enemy is," came Darunia's proud yet somber voice from behind him.

"Yeah, but who in their right mind is going to charge that thing?" Link said as cheerfully as he could as he turned to see Darunia, Ruto, and Nabooru standing behind him on the balcony.

"Hey, what are all of those bright lights?" asked Ruto.

Link turned back toward the South and watched as hundreds of multicolored lights started floating up and away from the Black Tower. At this distance the lights appeared microscopic, but since Hyrule was covered in darkness their lights shone out brightly against the dark backdrop of Hyrule. Link's body went limp as he realized exactly what those lights were and exactly what they meant as well.

"They're . . . they're fairies," Link stammered.

"Fairies!?" said Nabooru. "But then that must mean . . . oh my god, Saria!"

Link quickly whipped around to leave the balcony, but as he did so he caught sight of Zelda standing on the balcony next to his. She was standing there with Malon and a few knights staring out toward the South and the Black Tower. As Link spotted her, Zelda turned and looked him directly in the eyes. All the color had drained from her face, and her eyes and mouth were opened wide in fear. It looked as if she wanted to tell Link something, but Link didn't wait to find out what it was.

Link quickly ran off the balcony and back inside the castle. He ran full speed through the castle's hallways pushing anyone that got into his way aside. His boots resounded down the corridors accompanied by the clanking of his shield upon the Master Sword as he ran. As he neared the exit to the castle, Link put his fingers up to his mouth and let out a high pitched whistle. When he reached the outside, he heard the neighing of a horse and turned to see Epona galloping up toward him.

Link didn't wait for Epona to reach him. He ran straight for Epona and upon reaching her grabbed a hold of her reins and in one swift move swung himself up onto Epona's back. Epona didn't stop galloping as Link did this, and once he was on top of her he quickly snapped the reins and Epona took off at full speed toward Hyrule Market. Epona sped down the castle path hard leaving both a cloud of dust in her wake and shoe prints imbedded deep into the dirt.

Upon entering Hyrule Market, Epona's galloping upon the stone roads echoed all throughout the deserted city. Although Link knew that the soldiers would be setting up camp along the city's main roads, Link made no effort to take any other routes. He was pressed for time, and as such zipped through the main roads. Two knights had to quickly jump out of Epona's way she was going so fast. Before Link could even apologize to the soldiers Epona was crossing the drawbridge and entering Hyrule Field.

Without pause Epona galloped across Hyrule Field toward the South with Link gripping the reins tightly. As hard as it was for him to hold on at the speed Epona was going, he urged her on with each passing second to go faster and faster. Epona obliged Link as much as she could, pushing herself beyond her normal capabilities. She could sense the desperation growing within Link and was only to happy to do it.

Within only a matter of minutes Link had crossed Hyrule Field and was approaching the entrance to the Kokiri Forest. It was the fastest Link had ever crossed Hyrule Field. The fact that Link hadn't set foot in the forest for over a year and up till now never had any intentions to for the remainder of his life didn't even phase him as the entrance grew closer. Without slowing Epona's pace even a little, Link crossed over the short rope bridge and entered his old home.

As soon as he was within the Kokiri Forest, Link pulled on Epona's reins hard stopping her short and nearly sending himself flying of his saddle. Link didn't immediately hop off of Epona's back. Instead, he just closed his eyes and lowered his head. He was too late. The Kokiri Forest, once his home, had been attacked and he hadn't been there to protect it. His eyes clenched so tightly that they were beginning to water, Link threw his eyelids open, tossed his head high in the air, and wailed in both anger and mourning.

Sticking out of both houses and the ground were the shafts of arrows, the black feathers on the tails attesting to the grimness of the situation. From some of the arrows smoke was rising from the ground indicating that flaming arrows had been used. The houses were in shambles as if they had been ransacked, and all over the Kokiri Forest were the tell-tale signs of a surprise attack. No fairies were in sight anywhere; they had all already fled. The Kokiri themselves were no where to be found as well, except for the bodies of those that had been slain.

Link grimaced as he looked at all the child-like bodies of the Kokiri sprawled out all over the place. Some had been viciously sliced open, their blood darkening the ground beneath them. Others had a flurry of arrows sticking out of either their backs or their chests depending on where they had been attacked. One thing that Link did notice were the lack of weapons in any of the Kokiri's hands. They didn't even have a chance to defend themselves as they were unceremoniously attacked and slaughtered. Luckily though, as Link walked around counting the bodies he knew that there were still more alive someplace, most likely captured by the enemy for some reason.

Link was glad when he saw that Saria's body was not among the dead. That meant that she must have been captured along with the others, but considering that she was a Sage Link kept a small ray of hope alive that she had somehow escaped, maybe even with a few of the Kokiri. Before he even realized it, Link was standing before Mido's old house. The entrance to the house had been sealed, and on top of the roof a statue had been erected in his honor. When Link looked up and saw this he smirked.

No matter how much Link and Mido fought and hated each other in the past, that was all water under the bridge now. No matter the differences between them, they had both cared for the well being of the Kokiri. Though they may have showed it in different ways, the welfare of the Kokiri meant everything to the both of them, and that was only proven by Mido's sacrifice to protect them a year earlier. It was no wonder why the Kokiri had created this memorial for him.

When Link turned around, his eyes automatically fixed upon his old house. Even though it was all the way across the village, Link could see that the place had been savagely ransacked and whatever items he had left behind in there were now gone forever. Staring down at the ground in disappointment, he noticed that although everything was covered in shadow, the area around him was darker than all the rest. He immediately realized that he was in the shadow of something, and already knowing what it was he turned around to look upon the Black Tower that rose within the ruins of the Lost Woods.

At this close distance Link was in awe at the incredible size of the tower. Even with his head bent as far back as it could go he still couldn't see the top of the tower. Not only was the tower immense lengthwise, but it's width was roughly the same size as the Kokiri Forest. The tower was smooth, just as he had surmised, without even a slight imperfection. In addition it appeared that there was a large wall surrounding the tower, only the top of which he could see at the moment and which had been impossible to see from Hyrule Castle. The wall was as black as the tower and it was rimmed with spikes that were reminiscent of Ganon's Castle in the alternate time line.

Link just stared at the tower in rage and disgust, but he knew he couldn't linger long. As much as he wanted to bury the bodies of the fallen Kokiri, it was too dangerous in the shadow of the Black Tower. The longer he stayed the better his chances of being attacked by an army increased. He could already feel that he was being watched, but if he was he had no idea from where the person was hiding. Mouthing a silent lamentation for the fallen Kokiri as well as for those who were undoubtedly captured, Link hopped up onto Epona and left the Kokiri Forest.

The trip back to Hyrule Castle was far longer than the trip from. There was no reason to speed along, so Link had Epona walk the distance back. He also did it for Epona's sake. He knew that he had pushed her beyond her limit, and so as not to hurt her he kept Epona at a slow pace. The entire trip back his face was solemn, and he held the reins loosely in his hands. When he finally made it back to the castle, he found Zelda standing there waiting for him. Color had seemed to return to her face, and before he had even hopped off Epona she approached him.

"We need to talk," Zelda said in the most serious voice Link had ever heard her use.


	8. The Impossible Made Possible

Night had finally descended upon Hyrule. The moon and stars were veiled, probably by the same sorcery that shrouded the sun earlier, blanketing Hyrule in complete and utter darkness. The only things cutting through the complete blackness of the night were the torches scattered around Hyrule Castle and the fires from the armies camped in Hyrule Market. Hyrule was so shrouded however, that only the flames could be seen flickering in the distance and nothing more.

The night was calm and quiet. Not a sound could be heard in the darkness. There was no rustling of branches, no cracking of dry leaves. Even the crickets were silent, their beautiful songs absent in the dead of the night. The silence was eerie and unnerving, and it was only enhanced by the occasional cracking of the fires.

Link stared out at this bleakness from the dark of his own bedroom. He stood over by his window, an elbow sitting on the windowsill while he rested his chin in his hand, staring out absently and wondering. A lone candle, Link's only source of illumination, sat beside him on the windowsill. The Master Sword and Mirror Shield were no longer upon his back, but on their respective positions on his wall.

Even though it was too dark and he was too high up in the castle to see, Link knew that the ground was covered in a fog. He had been out walking the castle grounds earlier when the fog began to roll in. It wasn't a particularly dense fog, but given the already poor visibility the fog made it even more difficult to detect any incoming enemies. For all Link knew as he stared out his window, the entire army within Hyrule Market could already be dead, having been slain quite stealthily in the fog shrouded darkness. Even though Link doubted that possibility, as it would take quite an amount of skill to move an entire army into Hyrule Market and slay everyone within even with the current conditions, he knew that they would have to possibly be on the lookout for spies that were placed in the middle of the night. For an entire army it was impossible, but one or two skilled warriors could easily slip in undetected.

As Link stared out at a darkened Hyrule however, he couldn't keep his mind from wandering to earlier that day. He had unintentionally hurt Zelda, the one person most dear to his heart and perhaps only person left alive who still cared for him. All she had tried to do was talk to him about something serious, but he just threw it up in her face. The events of earlier just kept playing over and over in his head no matter how hard he tried to shut them out.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Zelda shouted at Link. "Why aren't you taking this seriously?!"

Zelda's voice was becoming enraged. She had just finished vividly describing her premonition to Link, yet he was refusing to listen to her. He just wore a smug smirk on his face throughout the entire retelling.

"Because there's nothing to be worried about," Link replied with amusement. "You had a dream, that is all."

"I know what a dream is Link, and this was no dream. It was a premonition, a foreshadowing of things to come."

"So then I guess my dreams were premonitions also? You kept saying that they meant something. There's only one problem though; I know that they were dreams and you even admitted that mine were dreams."

"It's not the same thing. Correct, you had dreams, not premonitions, but even still, your dreams were trying to tell you something. Your dreams focused on the past, but mine was about the future. It was a premonition telling me about things to come."

"You were just worrying over me and my dream so much that your mind created it's own chain of events."

"Then how the hell do you explain all the things have already come to pass: the shadow covering Hyrule, Navi's black armor, the Black Tower for goodness sake? All of those things have already come about, which means that the rest of them will as well. I didn't want to believe it at first either, so when Hyrule became covered in shadow and I saw Navi in her black armor, I went into denial. But when I saw that Black Tower, I knew that it wasn't just a coincidence. Even you have to admit that it wasn't just a coincidence."

"Three things out of your premonition don't make it one hundred percent accurate. Okay, maybe you did have a few brief glimpses into the future, but that's it. I don't see the land dying, the Triforce vanished after I made my wish upon it, and even if it did still exist it wouldn't return as some black incarnate; it's called the 'Golden Power' for a reason, and I have no intentions of dying."

"How do you know that?!" Zelda squealed as tears started to run down her cheeks. "You are an exceptional warrior, but . . ."

"But what?!" Link almost yelled fiercely at her. "You don't believe in me? When Ganon stole his father's powers a year ago, he became the most powerful being alive. He became twice as powerful as the time I fought him in the alternate future. I defeated him, and if I can defeat him I can defeat anybody."

"You barely defeated him. You were a wreck when you came down from that mountain, and you even admitted that if it weren't for Gerik you would've died. You never did tell me what happened on that mountaintop, and I never pushed it because I thought it might be too difficult for you, but something happened up there. The same person that went up that mountain didn't come back down."

"Zelda, I'm still the same person. I just don't think that's there's any reason why you should worry yourself when nothing is going to happen to me. I'm not going to die Zelda, no matter what happens."

"You may not care to think about what may happen to you," Zelda's voice quivered as tears now flowed freely down her face, "but I do."

With those last words floating in the air, Zelda quickly turned around and ran out of the room. Link was just left standing there with his mouth half opened and his right hand outstretched as if he were reaching out to Zelda. When Zelda had slammed the door to the room shut behind her, Link's arm fell to his side limply and he lowered his head.

All Zelda had wanted to do was make sure that Link would be careful and plan out a strategy that would make sure her premonition didn't come to pass, but Link had been too full of himself to listen. Those last words that Zelda had said were burned into his mind, and just thinking about them was enough to make him grimace. Link had tried to go and apologize, but finding Malon standing outside of Zelda's bedroom with a deep scowl on her face had told him that he better wait. He was just lucky that Malon hadn't seen him, or he knew that he would've gotten an earful from her as well.

Knowing that he would be no good to Hyrule without at least a decent night's sleep, and out of an intense desire to bring this day, which would easily go down as one of his worst days in history, to a close, Link grabbed the candle off the windowsill and stepped away. He placed the candle down on the night stand next to his bed and then proceeded to take off the black tunic he had been wearing all day. He sloppily tossed the tunic onto a nearby chair and climbed into bed. He blew out the candle, encompassing himself in now complete darkness, and laid his head down upon his pillow.

Link's head hadn't touched the pillow for even a second before his eyes flew open and Link quickly flipped out of bed. As Link flew off his bed a sword was thrust upward through the bed from underneath, a fatal blow had Link been a second slower. Link landed on his feet directly in front of the bed and facing the wall, just as he planned. Even though he couldn't see, Link instinctually reached forward and yanked the Master Sword off the wall. Then without pause, in one swift move Link did an about-face unsheathing the Master Sword as he turned to face his bed.

Link couldn't see a thing, but he knew that in the time it took him to grab his sword and turn around, his attacker had emerged from underneath his bed and was now standing somewhere in the room, hopefully just as equally blind. Link just stood his ground, not wanting to make any sort of sound that would give away his position. Since he couldn't trust his eyes, Link closed them so he could rely on his other senses. Unfortunately, his attacker wasn't moving either.

"Glad to see your reflexes haven't slowed any," came a voice Link knew he had heard before but couldn't place somewhere from the opposite side of the room. "I really was hoping that it wouldn't be that easy."

"Yeah well, I hate to disappoint," Link replied as he tried sensing where in the room his attacker was. The silence all around them made their voices sound as if they were coming from all directions. "So, are you going to reveal yourself or are we going to stab around blindly in the dark until one of us gets lucky?"

"Well, I actually can fight in the dark and I could easily kill you where you stand in mere seconds, but since that's not my style I'll oblige you," the attacker said as he lit the candle he swiped off Link's night stand.

Link had kept his eyes closed through the entire conversation, but as soon as the inside of his eyelids became rimmed with the red-orange glow from the candle, he opened them ever so slowly so that his eyes could adjust to the sudden brightness. Once opened, Link spotted the intruder sitting Indian style on his bed and he narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on the Master Sword upon the sight of him. It was the robed figure.

Link now knew that the robed figure's identity was being kept secret by sorcery rather than the hood he wore for the robed figure was holding the candle directly in front of his face, yet all Link could see was darkness underneath the hood. The only difference now was that there were a pair of red eyes staring back at him from under the hood, and as Link stared at them he couldn't help but think that they were familiar somehow. The candle he held was bright enough to outline the robed figure's body and give away his location, but for the most part he was still covered in shadow.

"How did you get in here?" Link demanded through clenched teeth.

"Oh, it was really quite easy," the robed figure responded, amusement apparent in his voice. "Of course, even without the total darkness and the fog, breaking into this place would be a piece of cake, but they did help considerably; I didn't have to kill anyone on my way in. I will give you credit however. The castle's defenses have certainly improved since the days of Ganon."

"So Ganon is the one pulling the strings."

"You're kidding me right? That pathetic loser, orchestrating all of this? I never heard something so funny before. Ganon's ideas usually revolve around total destruction and becoming ruler of the desolate wasteland that he created. Your puny mind can't even comprehend what we have in store for you, and by the time you even realize it, if you even do that is, it'll be too late to stop it. Besides, I'd much rather kill myself than work for Ganon."

"Well whatever your plans are, they'll have to go ahead without you. Now either draw your sword, or die where you are."

"I was wondering when you would be getting around to that. But really, let's not kid ourselves; this is not a suitable location for a fight. It's too small and there's too much furniture to get in our way. Follow me and I'll take us someplace more suitable for a battle."

"How can I trust you? For all I know you could take me someplace where your troops lie in wait to ambush me."

"You're absolutely right. I haven't exactly given you any reason to trust me. Oh, but wait, let's think of the alternative. You can either trust me and come with me, or I can blow out this candle and kill you in mere seconds without any trouble whatsoever. The choice is yours."

"Alright, you have a deal," Link said while eying the robed figure carefully. "Just let me put my tunic on first."

The robed figure nodded and extended his arm in a 'go ahead' fashion. Without taking his eyes off of him, Link leaned the Master Sword up against the wall and released the hilt. He then reached over and grabbed the black tunic he had tossed on the chair. With all reason in his heart telling him not to do so, Link finally broke his gaze and tossed the tunic over his head. He pulled the tunic over himself faster than normal, but as he did so he didn't hear any sign of movement come from the robed figure and when he was finished he saw that the robed figure hadn't even moved an inch.

"Well now I definitely know that you're not with Ganon," Link said as he picked up the Master Sword and walked over to the robed figure. "You fight with honor, something that all of Ganon's minions lacked. If you had been one of Ganon's minions, you would've attacked me while I was off guard putting my tunic on."

"As I said earlier, that is not my style," replied the robed figure as he looked at Link and then turned to look at the wall where the Mirror Shield hung. "If I am to win a fight, it will be because I am the better warrior. Speaking of which, aren't you going to bring your shield with you?"

"Trust me, the Master Sword is all I'm going to need to take care of you."

The robed figure whispered something under his breath, but Link didn't hear what he said. He then stood up on Link's bed and reached into his robes. Link saw this and tensed, but since the robed figure had been honorable so far, he relaxed slightly. The robed figure pulled out several Deku Nuts, turned towards Link, tossed them at the ground, and in a bright flash that was seen for miles in the darkness of Hyrule, both Link and the robed figure were gone.

When they reappeared, Link saw that they were now standing in a large, well-lit area. The air around him had a slight chill to it, and an occasional wind blew past. A low echo rang in his ears, and he immediately realized that wherever they were, they were high up in the sky. Looking down at the ground only confirmed his suspicions. The robed figure had brought them to the top of the Black Tower.

The floor he stood on was of a glossy black the same color as the rest of the tower. Staring at it, Link was positive that he could've seen his own reflection in it had the sun been up. Looking back up again, Link noticed that the top of the tower was rimmed with twelve multi-faceted peaks the same color as the rest of the tower which extended high up into the heavens. In front of each peak were large, flaming cauldrons that were the sources of light for the top of the tower. Standing beside each cauldron were the twelve Darknut resembling warriors that had accompanied the robed figure during his attack earlier that day.

Having surveyed his surroundings thoroughly, Link now turned his attention to the robed figure in front of him only to find that he was no longer robed. All that remained of his cloak was the hood and short trail of tattered fabric that still clung to it. Link was taken aback by the sight of him, but it wasn't from the ruined cloak; it was the ruined and filthy remains of the Sheikah outfit he wore underneath the cloak that left Link speechless. Link eyes went wide and he nearly dropped the Master Sword, but caught himself at the last second.

"You're . . . a Sheikah," Link stammered. "One of . . . the protectors . . . of the Royal Family. You've . . . you've betrayed your kind. You . . . you attacked the king."

"Well, ex-Sheikah would be more accurate," he replied amusingly. "Impa felt it necessary to remove my status when we fought each other earlier today."

"Wait, Impa!" Link shouted recovering from his initial shock. "So that's where Impa went to. What did you do?! Where is she?!"

"Oh, don't worry yourself. Impa is quite alive, although I daresay she'll never fight again. It's quite difficult without the use of your hands and feet I should say. Rest assured though, she is resting comfortably. And she's not alone either. Saria is keeping her company."

"You Bastard!"

"Bastard?" the robed figure laughed. "You used to call me friend."

"Huh, what are you talking about?"

"You are an exceptional fighter, there's no denying that, but you always have been slow on the uptake. You know, Impa figured out who I was right away. Maybe this will help you."

Link stood there dumbfounded as he watched the robed figure reach down to one of the two scabbards hanging from his belt. He took hold of the hilt and in one swift move unsheathed it and tossed it lightly over to Link. It landed only a few feet in front of the robed figure, but it's momentum made it slide all the way to Link and stop directly in front of his feet. Looking down, Link saw that it was what remained of a broken double-edged sword.

The hilt of the sword was still intact, it's silvery gleam glinting in the firelight while the red Sheikah eye on it's pommel stared up at Link. The leather wrapped around it's grip was frayed slightly, but that was something to be expected after repeated use. Only a small length of the blade remained, ending in several small yet sharp points. Extending down from where the blade broke were cracks of varying lengths, some more apparent than others. As Link stared at the broken sword, he couldn't help but sense an aura of familiarity about it. It was the same aura he felt when he first heard the robed figure speak.

With an almost knowing look in his eyes, Link looked back up at the robed figure. He was now standing there with his hands gripping the edges of his hood. When he was positive that Link's attention was focused on him, the robed figure pulled his hood back finally exposing his face. Link staggered backward at the sight of his face, his legs becoming jello and nearly collapsing underneath him. This time he did drop the Master Sword. Link was staring into the face of Gerik.

Gerik's flesh was of an unnatural pale blue hue, and a deep, jagged scar ran across his left cheek. His hair was no longer a dark brown, but a silvery white. His eyes retained their bright red color, yet Link could see a darkening of his irises from the bloodlust glinting in the corners of his eyes. Despite all the changes, it was unmistakably the face of Gerik. As Link continued to stare at him with unbelieving eyes, Gerik's mouth twisted itself into a wicked smile.

"Yo . . . you're . . . de . . .dead," Link was barely able to choke out, his voice hardly more than a whisper.

"Yeah, I seem to be getting that a lot lately," Gerik laughed menacingly. "Even though Impa found out much faster than you did, she was quite speechless herself."

"This is impossible," Link continued, his voice gaining back it's strength. "I saw you die; I was there at the funeral. I helped bury your body in the ground."

"For which I am most grateful. Had you cremated my body, my Master would not have been able to bring me back. You see, my Master is quite skilled in the Dark Arts, especially those pertaining to necromancy. It was a simple matter to raise my body."

"How could you do this? How could you turn your back on Hyrule, on your friends? What about Navi? How could you turn your back on her?"

"That pathetic whelp? She means absolutely nothing to me. She will die and burn along with the rest of Hyrule."

"This isn't you. Whoever this Master of yours is, he's controlling you. You would never say something like that. Who is this Master of yours? Where is he hiding?"

"He isn't hiding anywhere. In fact, he's been wanting to meet you for a very long time Link, and he's standing right behind you."

Link quickly whipped around to find a tall, menacing figure standing directly behind him. Link took several steps back both to put some distance between himself and this man and to also get a better look at him. The man towered above Link at seven feet tall, his body a well-defined muscular piece of art that looked as if it were chiseled out of stone. On his chest was a black chest plate with a large gash directly in the center of it. The rest of his body was protected in reinforced leather. A black cape flowed down from his shoulders where spiked shoulder pads kept it in place. Covering his face was a black, half skull mask.

Link tensed his body slightly, ready to move at the slightest hint of danger. Link watched as the man gripped the mask on his face in one giant hand and remove it. The face beneath was shockingly similar to Ganon's, but Link could tell that it wasn't him, the major reason for it being the deep, nasty scar that ran diagonally across his face from the top of his right eye all the way to his neck. As Link stared into the man's cold and unforgiving eyes, the realization of who he was crossed Link's mind.

"Link," Gerik stated boldly from behind him, "I'd like you to meet my Master, Lord Arcana."

"So this is the legendary Hero of Time?" Lord Arcana commented as he looked down upon Link. "Hmm, he doesn't look like much. I was expecting someone more heroic looking; a little taller even at least. I knew my son was a loser, but to be defeated by this . . . Tis a true disgrace."

"Gerik, you sniveling snake!" Link shouted whipping his head around angrily to look at Gerik as the realization of what his true purpose for being here was. "This was all a ploy, wasn't it? I was never supposed to fight you, was I? You lured me here so that I could fight Lord Arcana."

"Wow, he actually gets it right for once," Gerik disparaged. "As much as I would love to challenge you and finally determine which of us is the greater warrior, reluctantly I must decline."

"Ah, the Master Sword," Lord Arcana said sadistically causing Link to quickly whip his head back around to see Lord Arcana staring down at the legendary blade at his feet. "The blade of evil's bane. How I've longed to look upon it, and face it in battle. Well go ahead and pick it up. I'd hand it too you but being such a malevolent entity I'd never be allowed to touch it."

Link stared at Lord Arcana cautiously, yet fear crept it's way into the corners of his face. Lord Arcana was correct, he couldn't touch the sword, yet Link was apprehensive nonetheless. Link wanted to grab it, to feel it's power coursing through him once again, to drive it's cold, hard steel into Lord Arcana's black heart. Desire was welling up in the pit of his stomach and stretching itself all throughout Link's body. Link stood his ground though, trepid of a cheap shot Lord Arcana would deliver as he reached down to pick up as his blade.

Almost as if in response to Link's dread, Lord Arcana suddenly took several steps back from where the Master Sword lay. As he did so he held his hands out in front of him palms upward, both as a signal that he meant no tricks and for Link to pick up his blade. As Lord Arcana stepped back, Link cautiously stepped forward one step at a time, his eyes locked onto those of Lord Arcana's. Through his peripheral vision he kept an eye on the warriors, of whom he now knew had to be Darknuts, who stood at the rim of the tower. He couldn't see Gerik behind him, but he kept his ears open for any sign of treachery from behind. In life Gerik had been honorable, but there was no telling what this evil, demonic copy that Lord Arcana created was capable of.

When Link reached the spot where his sword lay, he bent down carefully, never taking his eyes off of Lord Arcana, and took hold of it in his left hand. He then rose warily, gripping the sword with his right hand as well once he was fully upright. Link cracked his neck as he held the Master Sword out before him and awaited Lord Arcana's move.

Lord Arcana smiled the whole time, and let slip a slight chuckle when Link was finished. A wicked grin still gracing his face, his scar making it appear even more maniacal looking, Lord Arcana reached for the sword hanging from his left hip in the most nonchalant manner Link had ever seen. Lord Arcana didn't show even the slightest hint of worry as he drew his blade from its sheath and held it out for Link to see. Link's eyes immediately became transfixed upon the sword's beauty as well as its lethality. The scalloped, coal-black blade with its silver glint and golden runes seemed to be calling to him, as well as stealing the warmth from his very soul.

"Behold, Hero of Time, my blade," declared Lord Arcana in a sadistic, booming voice. "Dragonflame, the sword of evil's ascension. Say hello to the sister blade of the Master Sword. I forged this blade myself deep within the fires of Hyrule, and infused it with my own dark powers. Dragonflame is the polar opposite of the Master Sword, yet in every way its equal. What the Master Sword does for the light, Dragonflame shall do for the dark."

Before Link could even fully comprehend Lord Arcana's words, Lord Arcana rushed forward at blinding speed and drove the hilt of Dragonflame deep into the solar plexus of Link. Link's eyes went wide and his mouth hung open as his body hunched over and all breath was stolen from him. With his eyes rolling their way behind his head, Link's first impulse was to drop the Master Sword, but he fought it and managed to keep, however slight, a hold on it. Without giving Link even a moment to try and catch his breath, Lord Arcana quickly delivered a roundhouse, backhand strike with his gauntleted hand across the side of Link's face.

Link's legs left the ground as the force of the blow sent Link spiraling to the ground several feet away. The entire side of Link's head was red, and small trickles of blood began to run down from the small cuts made by Lord Arcana's gauntlet. Link was still trying to get air into his lungs, but his chest felt like it was on the verge of exploding. The Master Sword was still with him, but his hand was only laying on top of it. He didn't even have the strength to take hold of it properly. As Link laid there, his body a network of pain, he could hear the sounds of Lord Arcana's boots approaching him.

Link started breathing harder and faster in an effort to fill up his lungs quicker and willed his body to move. He began flexing his left hand slowly, and soon took hold of the Master Sword. His body crying out in pain, Link rolled himself over onto his back swinging the Master Sword wide as he did so hoping to hit Lord Arcana. Lord Arcana had seen Link grab his sword though, and made sure to stay far out of its reach. When Link saw that the Master Sword had cut nothing but air, he looked into the eyes of Lord Arcana and watched as he grinned mischievously.

With Lord Arcana just standing there at the moment, Link struggled to stand up keeping the Master Sword held out before him in anticipation of an attack. Once Link was shakily on both feet again, he took hold of the Master Sword with both hands and rushed forward. Lord Arcana effortlessly blocked Link's attack by locking the two blades together. Then, in a show of force, Lord Arcana sent Link's sword wide, leaving Link's body open to attack. Although Lord Arcana could have easily cut Link's stomach open, all he did was kick Link hard beneath the chin sending him flying onto his back once again.

"Pathetic," Lord Arcana scoffed. "This is not the Hero of Time I've heard about. Where is the fire in your heart boy? Where is that power that you so readily disposed of my son with? Come on Hero of Time; on your feet. Pick up your sword and strike me down with the same anger, hatred, and pure rage that you struck Ganon down with. I know it's in you, welling up inside. Come and unleash it!"

Link groggily got back to his feet, but he ignored Lord Arcana's taunts. He wasn't going to let himself go down that road again. That day, on top of Death Mountain; he would not repeat it. Link rubbed his chin, waiting for Lord Arcana to make a move. Lord Arcana wasn't foolish however, and Link knew it. He would not make the first move. He would wait for Link to make a move, and then just dispatch of him the same as before. Link knew that he would be the one making the first move, but since standard attacks were no good he was going to need to try something a little differently.

There was a gleam in Link's eye as he grabbed the Master Sword and charged at Lord Arcana the exact same way as before. Lord Arcana just lowered his head and sighed at Link's unoriginality. This time however, as Link was charging forward he was also summoning the power of Farore. Just as he was about to reach Lord Arcana, Link smiled and vanished in a whirlwind due to the magic of Farore's Wind. Lord Arcana was shocked by this and barely managed to turn around and block Link's attack when he sensed Link return behind him.

His attack blocked, Link quickly withdrew his sword so that the blades would not become locked again. In terms of pure strength Link was seriously outclassed. Link didn't hesitate, however, to deliver a series of quick and precise strikes and stabs. Lord Arcana blocked all attempts with ease, but he was now on the defensive and unable to counter-attack. Releasing his left hand from Dragonflame, Lord Arcana created a bright, glowing ball of energy in his hand and flashed a bright light into Link's eyes blinding him.

All that filled Link's vision was that bright flash, but after several seconds his eyes began to refocus. When his eyes had refocused enough so that he could at least see things even if they were somewhat blurry, Link saw a giant fireball launch from the end of Lord Arcana's hand straight toward him. The fireball slammed full force into Link's chest, burning away his tunic and singeing his skin as he flew backwards through the air and landed with a slam onto the cold, hard tower.

With smoke rising off his slightly charred chest, Link got to his feet as quickly as he could. His ruse had apparently angered Lord Arcana seeing as how, unlike all the other times, he was coming at Link with his sword held ready to deliver a lethal blow. What little strength Link still retained was leaving him. He knew that he could not win this battle. He had come here unprepared and cocky. As Link unconsciously watched Lord Arcana rapidly approaching, Zelda's earlier warning came blasting inside his head.

With the haziness in Link's mind getting worse by the second, he barely registered Lord Arcana standing before him. Lord Arcana raised his sword high above his head and then quickly brought it down full force upon Link. Link managed to raise the Master Sword to block Lord Arcana's attack at the last second. Unfortunately, the Master Sword shattered upon impact sending out a shockwave in the wake of it's destruction. Lord Arcana stood his ground against the force of the shockwave, but Link, in his weakened state, was sent flying to the ground, the back of his head slamming hard into the ground.

Link's mind was beginning to fade, his vision becoming cloudy. His body refused to move. He couldn't think. All sense of time and space was lost to him. Through half opened eyes he saw Lord Arcana come and stand over him, Dragonflame held firmly in his hand. As darkness began to consume him, Zelda's words filled his remaining thoughts.

"Forgive me Zelda," Link whispered to himself, and then to Lord Arcana said in chokey voice as loud as he could, "Go ahead and finish me off then. The Master Sword has been broken, and my body lays here unable to move. Just . . . kill me . . . already."

"Whatever gave you the idea that I wanted to kill you," Lord Arcana responded in a sincere voice. "All I wanted was to face you in combat. In truth, I owe you my life. Had you not killed those wretched Twinrova Sisters, I would still be frozen in their spell. And as if killing them wasn't joyous enough for me, you also disposed of my miserable excuse for a son. I am a man of honor, and as such I will let you keep your life, this time. We are now even Hero of Time. Should we meet again in combat, I will not hesitate to kill you."

Lord Arcana just watched as Link fell into unconsciousness. The broken hilt of the Master Sword was still clutched in his hand, and all around them lay the shards of the legendary blade. Lord Arcana sheathed his sword and then outstretched both hands toward Link's unconscious form. Link's body began to glow in a white aura, and then vanished without a trace. When he was finished, Lord Arcana turned around to see Gerik standing behind him.

"Are you sure that was such a wise decision, my Lord," Gerik asked nervously, "letting him live?"

"Should he try again he will fail," Lord Arcana replied confidently. "Without the Master Sword he cannot defeat me. Too bad he didn't have the Mirror Shield with him as well."


	9. A Slimmer of Hope Emerges

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my oldest friend Chris Sutera. The world has lost one of it's most imaginative minds of all time, and it shall surely suffer greatly because of it. R.I.P man. - 3/01/07

**A Slimmer of Hope Emerges**

Link's mind was a haze. Incoherent thoughts and images flashed past his mind in a blur causing his head to throb incessantly. His entire body was numb. He had no feeling whatsoever, and he couldn't move any part of his body even an inch. Slowly, Link's mind began to clear and he struggled to open his eyes. Not even his eyelids wanted to move, yet Link forced them to open with what tiny strength he could muster. His eyelids began to roll up at a snail's pace, and as they did so actual light crept in to greet Link's weary eyes.

The first thing Link noticed once his eyes were opened was that he was back in his bedroom in Hyrule Castle. It was no longer night, for the sun was already high in the sky, although it was still being eclipsed by Lord Arcana's magic so that only a dim glare was able to reach Hyrule. Link's mind was still a little hazy, the events of the previous night one giant blur wrapped up in the most intense beating Link had ever received.

"Well look who finally woke up," came a warm, friendly voice next to him.

Link struggled to turn his head to the side. With great effort, he managed to turn his head enough to see that it had been Nabooru who had said those words. She was standing next to the bed along with Darunia and Ruto. They were all smiling, apparently glad that Link had finally woken up. Link managed a weak smile back at them and then began to look around the rest of his room.

"Where's Zelda?" Link asked in a hoarse voice after realizing she wasn't in the room.

"Yeah, figures you would wake up the one time Zelda leaves your side," Darunia laughed. "She's at the apothecary at the moment, getting you the strongest medicine there is."

"How did I get here?"

"While out on patrol, our sentries found you lying unconscious in Hyrule Field, along with . . ."

"Darunia!" interrupted Ruto. "Don't you think that we should let Link conserve his strength until Zelda returns with the medicine?"

"Yeah, perhaps you're right."

Link couldn't understand what they were babbling on about, but Link didn't have the strength to question or fight with them at the moment. He just rolled his head back upon his pillow and closed his eyes. He didn't want to, but his body was just so worn out that he couldn't resist. He could hear Darunia, Ruto, and Nabooru whispering to each other, but he couldn't make out any of the words. As he laid there, Link soon heard footsteps coming down the hallway. They stopped at the entrance to his bedroom, and Link opened his eyes to see Zelda standing there with a bottle full of a thick, orange liquid.

"Is he awake yet?" Zelda asked of the three Sages in a soft voice before turning to see Link staring back at her. "Link!"

A look of relief swept over Zelda's face as she ran over to Link, nearly letting go of the potion in her excitement. She wrapped her arms around Link as a few tears of joy ran down her cheeks. Link, however, didn't return the hug out of both his weariness and the shame he felt at having pained Zelda the day before. He just shut his eyes and looked down in disappointment while Zelda hugged him.

"Zelda," Link finally said after pulling her away from him, "I'm sorry. I was a fool, an overconfident fool. I should've listened to you. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Forget about it," Zelda smiled as her face blushed slightly. "I'm just glad you're okay. Here, drink this potion. It'll help relieve the weariness in your body. I've even infused it with some of my magic to heal the scrapes and bruises you received."

Knowing he would be too weak to do it himself, Zelda uncorked the bottle and held it up to Link's mouth. Link downed the bitter tasting potion and immediately felt strength returning to his body. The numbness left him as well as all weariness. His mind finally cleared fully, and where his body was bruised it was instantly healed. Although still a little sore, Link stretched himself out upon his bed and sat up.

"Easy there boy," Zelda commented coyly. "Don't rush things."

"Don't worry," Link replied with a smirk. "I'll take it easy. After all, I'm going to need all the strength I can get if I am to defeat Lord Arcana."

"Lo . . . Lord Arcana!" choked Nabooru. "No, that's impossible. His own son killed him a year ago. Lord Arcana is dead."

"Then that must have been a ghost that kicked my ass up on top of that Black Tower last night. I'm telling you; it was him. He is the one behind all of this."

"Exactly what did happen last night?" Zelda inquired.

"Well, I was about to go to sleep when the robed figure ambushed me in my room. I agreed to a duel with him, and he transported us to the tower. Imagine my surprise when I discover that I'm not fighting him, but rather Lord Arcana instead, who ever so humbly showed me no mercy whatsoever."

"In a way it does sort of make sense," said Ruto. "After all, only someone with Lord Arcana's skill in sorcery could be performing these feats. Plus, we never did find his body. We all just assumed that it disappeared as Ganon's had."

"Link, are you okay?" Zelda asked noticing the far off look in his face.

Link was sitting in the bed with his head low and his eyes downcast. Recalling what had happened the previous night brought only one painful memory to mind, and he couldn't avoid it forever; nor could he deny it. After he had finished talking he just slipped off into his own little world. What Ruto and Zelda had said went passed unnoticed by Link as he stared down into his hands with disbelieving eyes.

"Link, what is it?" Zelda continued, now shaking Link as she did so. "What's wrong?"

"It's . . . it's . . ." Link began, but he couldn't bring himself to say the words. "Where's Navi?"

"What does this have to do with Navi?" asked Darunia, his interest peaked.

"Nothing . . . it's just that . . . where is she?"

"She's out in the castle courtyard with Malon," said Nabooru. "She's training Malon in some basic sword attacks. If they had known you would have woken so soon, they would have been here waiting with us. Do you want me to send somebody to go get her?"

"No! She can't know this; at least not yet."

"You're starting to scare me Link," said Zelda as she stared into Link's cheerless eyes.

"I know the identity of the robed figure," Link said glumly, lowering his head again.

"Is that all it is?" chuckled Nabooru. "Finally, some good news. Well, out with it already. Who is it? Have we met this person before or is it somebody totally new?"

"He's Gerik."

The room instantly fell deathly quiet. Zelda just sat there next to Link with her hands held up to her mouth in shock and her eyes full of horror. Darunia, Ruto, and Nabooru just lowered their heads in total bewilderment, Link's words striking a heavy blow against all their hearts. Link didn't need to look up to know that all this was happening. A state of disbelief hung heavily in the air. There was a short muffled sound from the hallway outside the room, but it went unnoticed by everyone in the room.

"It . . . can't . . . be," Zelda finally muttered through quivering lips while tears began to fill her eyes. "Gerik's . . . dead."

"Those were my words at first also," Link replied morosely, "but I saw him with my own eyes. He claimed that Lord Arcana raised him from the dead."

"Are you positive that it was Gerik though?" Ruto asked, her voice slightly strained.

"To tell you the truth, I really don't know. He looks, acts, and talks just like the real Gerik, and he even knows things that only he would know. His body looks like it was dug up from the grave. He's still wearing the shredded clothing he wore when we buried him, and all the wounds he had are still there. The only difference is that he now has pale skin, and white hair. I just can't believe that it's him though. Even if Lord Arcana could revive a body, I don't think he's strong enough to convert somebody, especially somebody like Gerik, into an evil manifestation. The real Gerik would never turn his back on us."

"I know he wouldn't," Zelda sniffled. "I knew him longer, and better than any of you. Gerik didn't have an ounce of evil in his heart. It just can't be him, it can't."

"But if it's not Gerik, then who could it be?" asked Nabooru with hopelessness evident in her tone.

"Maybe it's a clone," offered Ruto with slight joy. "Remember Link, when you went to the Water Temple? Ganon had created an evil clone of you and forced the two of you to fight. Sure, the clone's appearance was nothing but a shadow and he couldn't talk, but he had all your skills and abilities. Since we all know how much more powerful Lord Arcana is than Ganon ever was, it wouldn't be that hard to create a perfect clone."

"That's a good theory," Darunia finally spoke up, "but do we really want to get our hopes up? Why would Lord Arcana go through all the trouble of making a Gerik clone?"

"No, that must be it," Link said, but the tone of his voice said otherwise. "There's no other explanation as to why Gerik would turn his back on us. Lord Arcana probably knows how close Gerik was to all of us, so he made a clone to throw us all off guard."

"Oh no!" Zelda suddenly shrieked. "What are we going to tell Navi? We can't keep this from her."

"No, we can't," Link agreed. "Even if we don't tell her, she will find out sooner or later. It would be impossible to keep her out of any future battle where they might meet, plus he's proven once already that he can get into the castle with no problem. She shouldn't know yet though. We should probably wait until we've proven whether it's really him or just a clone first."

"But how are we . . ."

"Hey Navi," came Malon's voice from out in the hallway as she opened the door to Link's room, "what are you doing out here in the hallway? I thought you were going to check on . . . Link, you're awake!"

Link and Zelda turned their heads toward the doorway so fast that they both nearly fell out of the bed. Darunia, Ruto, and Nabooru turned to look as well, worry written all over their faces. Standing in the doorway was Malon, whose chipper expression greatly contrasted with that of everyone else, and next to her, with a visage of complete horror, was Navi. Malon's smile faded slightly as she turned from Navi to everyone in the room back to Navi again, but she couldn't understand what was going on. She did notice, however, that everyone's eyes were focused entirely upon Navi.

Navi just stood there staring back at everyone, her body shaking uncontrollably. Several tear stains ran down her cheeks, but other than that her eyes were dry; yet they were filled with sorrow. Her hands covered her mouth, and it appeared as if she were mouthing wordlessly. She was shaking her head slightly back and forth as she stared at the dismayed expressions of everyone in the room. Before anyone could say a word, Navi turned her head away and bolted down the hallway, several sobs echoing back to the room.

"I'll go talk to her," Zelda quickly said as she stood up and headed to the doorway.

"What's going on?" Malon asked of no one in particular, her cheerfulness completely gone now.

"I'll tell you on the way. Come on."

"I think we may have made a mistake," Ruto said once Zelda and Malon were gone.

"What a way to find out," Nabooru agreed.

"I'm sure Zelda and Malon will be able to calm her down," said Darunia. "We have more important matters to attend to at the moment; such as what caused this?"

Darunia brought his right hand out from behind his back into full view by Link. In it was the broken hilt of the Master Sword. His head was lowered as he did this, and upon sight of the broken blade Ruto and Nabooru lowered their heads as well. Link just stared at the cracked blade, the final moments of his and Lord Arcana's battle playing itself over in his mind.

"When you were found, the hilt was still in your hand and all around you were the broken shards of the sword," said Nabooru when she noticed the blank stare Link gave the broken hilt.

"It wasn't just a dream then," Link said through thin lips. "The sword is really broken."

"That's right," answered Darunia in a less than pleased sounding tone. "How? The Master Sword is the sword of evil's bane. It was created by the goddesses. No one should be able to destroy it."

"Dragonflame," was Link's only response.

"Dragonflame?" said a confused Ruto. "What is that?"

"It's Lord Arcana's new sword. He called it the sister sword to the Master Sword, that it was it's polar opposite and in every way it's equal. It . . . I don't know how to describe it, but it's power is frightening. He claimed to have made the sword himself, saying that he forged it in the fires of Hyrule, whatever that means, and that he infused it with his own powers."

"Forged . . . in the fires of . . . Hyrule," Darunia said in disbelief. "Link, are you sure that's what he said?"

"Yeah, why? What does it mean?"

"Hidden deep within the Fire Temple is an ancient forge. The forge was responsible for creating some of the most powerful weapons Hyrule had ever seen. A few days ago, two of our Goron guards standing watch outside the Fire Temple were beheaded, not an easy feat to perform on a Goron. I considered it an internal matter, which is why I didn't bring it up before now. What a fool I was. I never even thought to check the forge. It must have been Lord Arcana. It's all my fault."

"Darunia, snap out of it!" shouted Ruto, but Darunia continued to rant, but now it was more to himself than to anyone else.

"That's not important," said Link. "What we need to focus on now is repairing the Master Sword. Without it we don't stand a chance of defeating Lord Arcana. What? Why are you looking at me like that? The Master Sword can be repaired, can't it?"

"Not that we know of," Nabooru replied glumly. "The sword was created by the goddesses, and only they have the power to reforge it. No mortal could even hope to repair the Master Sword, even with that ancient forge Darunia mentioned."

"Then all hope is lost."

"Not all hope my young friend," came a new, yet jolly voice from the side of the room. "There is one way to repair the legendary blade."

Link looked up to see the jolly, old face of Rauru smiling back at him. Ruto and Nabooru turned to see him standing there as well, and even Darunia finally snapped out of his ranting to acknowledge Rauru's presence. The three Sages, upon seeing him, bowed their heads in respect, and Rauru bowed his head back.

"Rauru, do you speak the truth?" asked Link, his eyes wide with excitement. "Can the blade really be fixed?"

"In theory, yes," replied Rauru, more serious this time. "Hidden deep within the mountains north of Hyrule Castle lies the Queen of the Fairies. She was one of the first creatures given life by the goddesses. They charged her with being a great protector of Hyrule, and as such imbued her with godlike powers. Her powers obviously pale in comparison with those of the goddesses themselves or the Triforce, but she's the next best thing. I do not know if she has the power to repair the Master Sword, but she's our only hope."

"Great! Any hope is good hope in my book at this point. So how do I reach her?"

"That's the problem. There is only one path from Hyrule Castle leading to the Queen Fairy's Fountain. Normally, it would be a two days journey to the fountain, on horseback, but nobody has traveled the path in generations. There's no telling what kind of condition the path is in. Not only that, but there are countless dangers along the way, and I'm sure even more so in these dark times."

"Well can't you guys just teleport me there?"

"The mountains are heavily protected in order to ensure the Queen Fairy's safety. We can't teleport you there, and half those dangers I was telling you about are traps designed to keep the fountain safe from those who would do it harm."

"That sucks," Link replied blatantly, some disappointment in his voice. "I have no choice though. We can't defeat Lord Arcana without the Master Sword, especially with that new sword of his. I have to make the journey."

"Make what journey?" asked Zelda from the doorway. Everyone turned to see her and Malon standing there.

"I'll tell you later. How's Navi doing?"

"She's not talking to anybody," replied Malon. "We managed to corner her, but she teleported away, and we have no idea where."

"Hold on a second," interrupted Zelda. "Let's get back to this journey thing a second. You're in no condition for anything at the moment."

"I'm afraid I must agree with Zelda," said Rauru. "You should rest up, conserve your strength; especially considering there's no telling what dangers you'll come across. I also don't think you should go alone."

"Listen, except for a little soreness, I'm feeling a whole lot better," replied Link. "Time is not our friend at the moment, and every second we waste the closer Lord Arcana gets to victory. I'll take it easy the rest of the day, but tomorrow at daybreak I head out. Alone! Hyrule is going to need all the troops it can muster, and it can't spare a single one. Besides, something is telling me that this is something I must do alone. Malon, could you please find Captain Huntley and tell him to lay out enough provisions for two weeks?"

"Why two weeks?" asked Ruto.

"Well, Rauru said that it used to be a two day journey, so that means four days total back and forth. Since there's no telling what condition the path is in, it could take longer, not to mention we don't know how long it'll take the Queen Fairy to repair the Master Sword if it's even possible."

"Hold it!" shouted Zelda. "I still want to know what's going on. What are you people talking about?"

"Alright Zelda, sit down. This will take quite a bit of explaining, and some understanding on your part."

"In the meantime, I shall return to the Sage Room," said Rauru. "Darunia, Ruto, Nabooru, would you please accompany me. It appears that Impa and Saria are in serious trouble, and we should try to lend whatever help we can."

Darunia, Ruto, and Nabooru all agreed and walked over to Rauru. Malon meanwhile, went off to find Captain Huntley as Link requested, and Zelda went over to sit by Link. Link and Zelda waved goodbye to the Sages, but the Sages didn't disappear. Link and Zelda just stared at each other in bewilderment while the Sages stood there in shock.

"We can't get back to the Sage Room," Rauru declared in stunned tone. "Lord Arcana has blocked our access to the Sacred Realm."

* * *

That night was just as dark as the previous. The only difference was the lack of fog this night. Link made his way cautiously across Hyrule Field, making sure to stay close to the riverbank. He held a lantern in his hand, but even with the immense light it was giving off in the complete darkness surrounding him, Link could only see a couple feet in front of him. He couldn't even see the river next to him. Instead, he was relying on his ears to keep him from accidently plunging in. 

The running river next to him and the torches lining the top of the outer wall above him were the only sounds Link could hear. Occasionally the sound of footsteps from the soldiers patrolling the wall and the low murmur of soldiers talking wafted to his ears. Despite the eerie surroundings, Link kept on walking. He had taken great care to make sure that no one noticed his departure from the castle. This was just something that he had to do alone. He just had to know the truth for himself.

As Link rounded the bend in the river, he saw another light in the distance. This light came from the memorial graveyard. Link tried peering through the gloom to see who it was that could possibly be there, but he was too far away. As he got closer, he realized that even had it been daytime he wouldn't have been able to see the person. Whoever it was had been digging up one of the graves, the exact same grave Link had come to dig up, and all Link could see now coming from the deep hole was the shovel as it threw out dirt. It didn't take Link long to figure out who it was.

While Link entered the graveyard, he noticed that the shovel had stopped tossing out dirt. He crept his way over to the grave for fear of making a sound and startling the person down there, but he listened intently. He soon heard the soft sound of a coffin being pried open. Once Link heard the coffin pop open, he heard several quick, sharp gasps. They were followed by an eccentric Navi stumbling her way out of the grave and smacking into Link. In her current state it never occurred to her that it could have been an enemy she bumped into, so she didn't run away but rather looked up into Link's face.

"It's true," Navi cried, tears streaming down her face. "It's really true. I didn't want to believe it, but it's true. The grave is empty. His body is gone. Gerik really is alive, and he's working for the enemy."

"Shhh," Link tried to calm Navi down, but his own insides were turning in knots. "It's going to be okay Navi. It's going to be okay. We'll get through this."


	10. The Journey Begins

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, but I've been going through some things. I'm back though, and although my style may be a little under par due to my long absence, I guarantee it'll be up to usual standards next chapter, which I will have finished as soon as possible. Enjoy.

**The Journey Begins**

Lord Arcana rested contentedly within the confines of his own personal throne room in the Black Tower. The circular room was large and spacious, encompassing nearly the entire diameter of the tower, and appeared as if it had been carved out of what had once been a solid stone tower. Not one window adorned the smooth, glossy black walls. The only illumination for the dimly lit room came from candelabras jutting out from the walls. Save for the candelabras, there was no other decoration to be found in the room.

The massive throne Lord Arcana sat upon was made of the same black stone as the tower, and it rose upward from the floor as if it had grown out of it. It was a simple, solid stone throne. No jewels or brightly colored tapestries graced its sides and it had no cushions, yet Lord Arcana's large, muscular frame rested comfortably within it.

Lord Arcana sat there with an air of authority surrounding him. A crooked smile ringed his face as he sat there, visions of his inevitable victory dancing across his eyes. Evenly spaced along the walls around him stood his twelve elite Darknut warriors. They stood as still as statues, menacing yellow eyes peering out from underneath their helms.

The soft footfalls of Gerik walking into the room and heading over to Lord Arcana's throne were the only sounds that could be heard in the expansive chamber. Gerik walked with an air of superiority, yet even he couldn't help but stare in awe at the simple, yet impressive chamber. He walked straight up to Lord Arcana and got down on one knee and bowed before speaking.

"Your throne room is impressive my lord," Gerik said with his head still bowed, "if a little simple for someone of your magnificence."

"You are already in my good graces Gerik," Lord Arcana chuckled while signaling for him to rise. "Don't cheapen it by sucking up. True, this room may be simple for someone like me, but Hyrule Castle's throne room shall serve me quite well I think once I am victorious. So tell me, any activity from Hyrule Castle?"

"Not yet. I think they believe things will be just like last time. I think they're waiting for us to make the first move."

"Pathetic simpletons," Lord Arcana laughed. "Little do they realize that I've already made my moves. All we need to do now is play the waiting game and let the final pieces fall into place. By the time they realize that we're not going to attack them, it'll be too late to stop us."

"Your victory is assured."

"It's remarks like that that lead to defeat. I won't consider victory assured until we have victory. If there's one thing that we can learn from my former son, it's that overconfidence can destroy even the most well laid out plan, and that arrogance will lead to death. I'm surprised at you. As a former Sheikah you should have already known that."

"I know my lord, and I am sorry, but with each passing second we grow closer and closer to victory. They can't even contemplate what we have planned, let alone stop it; especially now that the Master Sword has been destroyed."

"No! While as a whole the Hyrulian Army may be powerless to stop us, there are three individuals who now stand between us and certain victory: the Hero of Time, the Sage of Wisdom, and the last remaining Guardian of the Triforce."

"Well," Gerik smirked evilly, "it's a good thing then that you brought back to life and made general the one person who knows all three of their weaknesses."

"You're turning out to be far better than I could've ever hoped for my boy. When I met you on the field of battle one year ago, I saw how you commanded the Gerudo forces and witnessed first hand your skill and ferocity. It is for those reasons I brought you back, but now it seems that you offer more. So tell me, how can we bring down Hyrule's greatest?"

"Zelda's the easiest, especially now that her feelings for Link have been revealed. If we were to put Link in a dire situation, or even make her believe that he's in trouble, she'll come to his rescue in a second. Zelda is a strong, wise, and capable ruler, there's no denying that, but she rules with her feelings. It is those same feelings that will cause her to forsake Hyrule, however, if she could save Link. As for Link, he's the typical hero. He'll always put his own life on the line to protect the lives of others, even strangers. All we need to do is put him into a situation that we control, spring a trap, and he's ours."

"Excellent!" Lord Arcana declared with such malevolent glee that he was almost drooling. "But what about the last one? Without the Master Sword in Link's possession, she is our biggest concern."

"Oh, Navi," Gerik said with a wide malicious grin. "Just leave her to me."

* * *

Link stood at the entrance to the only path leading up into the Great Northern Mountains of Hyrule. He stared up at the winding path before him wondering exactly what dangers lay ahead for him. On him he wore the custom green tunic that Zelda had made for him after his original had been destroyed in the War of the Triforce. From his belt hung his bomb bag and on his back was the Biggoron Sword and Mirror Shield. 

Besides Link stood his trusty steed Epona. Hanging down from both sides of her were several bulging saddlebags as well as Link's bow and quiver of arrows. Epona neighed unsettlingly as she stared up the path, but in no way made any effort to run away despite Link not having a hold on her reins. When he heard her neigh though, Link reached over and petted Epona's head in an effort to comfort her before turning around to face everyone who had come to see him off.

Standing behind Link and Epona, all with grim looks of uncertainty, was Rauru, Darunia, Ruto, Nabooru, Malon, and Zelda. Navi was absent. Having been completely demoralized and fallen into a depressed state, she had locked herself in her room in Hyrule Castle. Link couldn't blame her for not being there to see him off, yet he had hoped that she would've come just for the sake that it would've shown signs of her recovering. He had done all he could to make her feel better the night before, but it had taken all he could offer just to get her to go back with him to the castle. He hated to have to leave her in that state, but this was a mission of vital importance not to mention that she would have Zelda and Malon to cheer her up if possible.

"Well," Link said to the group while letting out a breath, "I'm all set."

"Good luck Link," replied Rauru. "May the goddesses watch over you on your journey."

"Yeah. With all the luck we've been having so far, I'd say I'm going to need any and all miracles possible if I'm to reach the Queen Fairy."

"Don't worry brother," said Darunia as he handed Link a folded cloth in which was the broken hilt of the Master Sword and the shards of its blade, "you'll be fine. If anyone can make it to the Queen Fairy, it's you."

"Let's hope so," Link replied with a childish grin, "cause if not we're all doomed." Link's grin soon vanished and his face became solemn. "Hmpf, that's something Gerik would've said. Guess he rubbed off on me more than I thought."

Everyone closed their eyes and looked down at the mention of Gerik's name. A few seconds passed without anyone saying a word, and then Zelda stepped toward Link.

"It's not your fault Link," she said as she stroked her hand across his cheek. "We will win, and when we do we'll release Lord Arcana's hold on Gerik and his soul can finally rest in peace."

"I know," Link replied a little grudgingly. "And don't worry, I will be back."

"Oh I know you will," Zelda said with a sly smirk, "cause if you don't, I'll hunt you down and kill you myself. Now here, take this."

Link looked down and saw in Zelda's outstretched hand the Ocarina of Time. He quickly looked back up into her face with surprise. He was unsure of what to make of it.

"What are you giving me this for?" he asked, still slightly stunned.

"There's no telling what dangers and protective measures you'll face up there, so you're going to need all the help you can get," she replied. "You never know, it may come in handy. And hey, even if it doesn't, at least this way I'll be with you all the way."

Link just smiled at her while Zelda kissed him on the cheek. She then walked over toward the others while Link hopped up onto Epona's back. Turning Epona toward the path, Link looked over his shoulder at everyone one last time, especially Malon.

"You watch over her Malon," Link said still smiling. "Don't let her become too crazy while I'm gone."

"Yeah well, you just better make sure you come back, and quickly, or no promises," Malon replied playfully. "And Epona, you take good care of Link, you hear?"

Epona neighed happily in response to Malon's words. Link just chuckled as he tapped Epona's sides and they took off along the mountain path. Rauru, Darunia, Ruto, and Nabooru stared at Link as he galloped away one last time before turning around and heading back to the castle. Zelda remained, staring until there was nothing left except the dust clouds kicked up by Epona, and even then still stared on. Malon remained with her, and after awhile walked over toward her.

"Don't worry," Malon said as she grasped Zelda's shoulder and looked at her with a wide smile, "he'll come back safe and sound."

"Yeah, I know," Zelda smiled back. "I just hope that there will be something left for him to return to. A lot can happen while he's away."

"Well you're in command now princess. Link had taken over for you until you were emotionally stable to assume the throne, but now it looks like you have no choice. Your father certainly is in no condition to lead Hyrule."

"Yeah," Zelda replied, her voice turning solemn as her mind drifted to her bedridden father, the toxin in his body slowly killing him. "I just hope, that in his eyes at least, I can do a good job."

"Of course you will. You are a strong ruler Zelda. I've seen you. You care for the people just as your father did. You'll do just fine; I know you will."

"Thanks Malon. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'd probably have offed yourself a long time ago and Link would now be mine," Malon joked. "Hey, don't look at me like that. You know it's the truth. Now come on, let's go see if we can cheer up Navi."

* * *

Only an hour into his trek, Link came across his first obstacle. Up till now, the going had been smooth. The mountain path winded its way up into the mountains at a gentle slope, its surface barely scarred by any pits or rock debris. The cliff walls towered high above him on either side. Both Link and Epona had enjoyed the trip thus far, and had made excellent time. They had traveled much farther than Link had originally thought they would given all the dangers he had been warned about. 

Now, however, the road before him was blocked. The cliff walls had collapsed filling in the path with boulders as large as Link. The entire width of the path was covered with rubble, so much so that not even a bug could have squeezed through, and it extended halfway up the cliff walls. From the smoothness of where the stones had fallen from, Link figured that this was not a recent occurrence.

Link just sat atop Epona trying to figure a way through. There was no telling how far up the path the obstruction went, and climbing over it was an impossibility. Link knew he might have to abandon Epona somewhere along the trail, but this was too soon. There was no way he could climb with all the supplies on his back and then make it to the Queen Fairy before his supplies ran out.

From the looks of things the boulders looked well compacted from their years, maybe even decades, of remaining untouched. Link had brought a good supply of bombs for just this sort of situation, but he didn't want to have to use them all up this soon. He wasn't even sure if he had enough just to blow through this, and if it extended for more than a few feet he'd never get by.

Link didn't have much choice though. There was no way he could dig through, so with a sigh Link hopped off of Epona and unhooked his bomb bag from Epona's saddle. As he untied the bag, Link stared at the formation before him trying to decide where best to plant the bombs. He couldn't place them at the base like he usually did since it was so high. The bombs would have no effect.

Reaching up as high as he could, Link placed the bombs into whatever crevices he could find, spacing them far enough apart for maximum effect. He placed ten such bombs, and then took a few steps back to look over his work. With a reluctant shrug, Link hooked the bomb bag back up to Epona's saddle and then set about tying all the fuses together. Link then lit the fuse and quickly hopped atop Epona. As the fuse burned, Epona sped down the path and around a bend to avoid the blast.

The bombs exploded, the explosion echoing in Link's ears as smoke and rock debris flew in every direction. Epona whinnied at the explosion, but otherwise made no effort to run. When the smoke began to clear, Link led Epona cautiously back around the bend to see whether or not the path was now clear. Because of the narrowness of the path, the area was still hazy, yet through all the dust and debris Link could see that the path before him was now open. With a satisfied grin, Link now continued on his way.

Link's journey continued without a hitch. He noticed a significant incline along the path the higher into the mountains he got, but other than that he had yet to run across any more obstacles. Despite the lack of danger however, Link remained on high alert always with his hand ready to unsheathe his sword the instant he came under attack. He also had Epona walking at a much slower pace than when they had started. Link couldn't put his finger on it, but something about the mountains was making him uneasy.

Link listened intently for any sound, but the towering mountain cliffs made it difficult. The wind blew high above him, and although he was sure it carried with it other sounds, all he could hear were faint traces from time to time. Besides that the only sounds that caught his attention was that of loose rocks rolling down the mountain. It was at these times when Link was most alert, because the rocks could signal an enemy's approach. Even though he spotted nothing, Link just couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.

Even Epona was beginning to feel it. Even had Link not decided to take it slow, Epona would've made her way cautiously up the path anyway. Her head moved from left to right, as if she herself were on the lookout for danger as well. Every time a rock was shaken loose Epona snorted softly and looked toward the source of the noise. It almost looked to Link as if Epona was ready to defend her master at a moment's notice.

That thought brought back to Link Malon's words as he was departing. He immediately smiled at the thought of her, and Zelda, and all the others. He began to wonder how they were all doing. He worried for all their safety. Now that they knew it was Lord Arcana behind everything, and since Lord Arcana no longer had anything to fear since the Master Sword was shattered, he was free to commence with his plans at any time. Not only that, but now that Gerik had joined him he had gained a powerful ally indeed. Link couldn't help shake the feeling that even if he did succeed here, by the time he returned he would find Hyrule in ruin.

A rather loud neigh from Epona snapped Link out of his reverie. It took him several seconds to realize that they had stopped moving. He petted her side and leaned down toward Epona's ear to ask what the matter was when he looked out before him. Link's entire body nearly fell limp, and his mouth hung open slightly. They were standing on the edge of an extremely wide ravine.

With a deep sigh Link closed his eyes and hopped off of Epona. Epona then took a few steps back while Link moved up to the very edge of the ravine and peered out over it. The other side was at least twice the distance that Epona could jump, and the ravine was so deep that Link was unable to see the bottom. All he saw was darkness, but he could hear running water echoing its way up toward him.

Two decrepit wooden posts placed roughly five feet apart from each other stood next to Link. Tied around the top and bottom of both posts Link noticed the frayed and decayed remains of a thick rope. Directly across the ravine Link could spot another pair of wooden posts. Link crossed his arms across his chest and stared out across the ravine wondering just how long ago it had been since the rope bridge that had once spanned the ravine collapsed and fell to a watery grave.

Link looked around him and noticed that the shadowed sky above was getting darker. Even had the ravine not been there, Link realized that he wouldn't have gotten much farther anyway before setting up camp for the night. He wouldn't be able to even see an inch in front of him thanks to Lord Arcana casting Hyrule into eternal darkness. He spotted a flat area far from the edge of the ravine and led Epona over to it where he began to remove his equipment and saddle from Epona's back.

Free from her burden, Epona neighed happily and trotted around in a circle as if she were stretching. As she did this, Link set up her feeder and emptied two canteens of water into a bucket. Upon sight of the food, Epona quickly headed over to the feeder and began to eat. Link meanwhile, took several Deku Sticks from the large bundle he had brought and set about making a fire. When he was sure the fire was stable, he took out several fish from one of his pouches and set them about the fire to cook.

In the time it took him to do all this, the last bits of sunlight that could pierce Lord Arcana's spell vanished. Link was now in complete darkness, the light from his fire illuminating only a small area around him. He could barely even make out Epona's outline. He had forgotten how dark it would become without the moon and stars above, and now his already perilous journey had become that much more dangerous. He greatly doubted his ability to survive should he be attacked in the middle of the night.

After his meal, Link took a swig of water from his canteen and stoked the fire for a while. With weariness beginning to overcome him, Link propped himself up against a rock and closed his eyes. Even though he relaxed his body, he kept a firm grip on the Biggoron Sword resting right next to him. Having had her fill, Epona walked over and lied down near the dying embers of the fire.

"_Link," _cried a soft, feminine voice later that night. _"Link."_

Link began to rouse out of his slumber as the voice continued to cry out his name softly, almost as if a whisper upon the wind. At first his fatigue kept a firm grip upon him. He only half opened his eyes and turned his head sluggishly from side to side wondering why he had woken up. As the realization that someone was calling his name finally registered within him, Link's eyes snapped open and he quickly hopped to his feet, his sword held out before him. With the fire having finally died out completely though, Link couldn't see anything around him.

"_Link," _the voice continued.

"Zelda?" Link said a little unsurely as he thought he recognized the voice. "Zelda, is that you?"

"_So Link, are you and Zelda an item?" _this time the voice was male, and this time not only did Link know the voice but he remembered hearing those same words a year ago.

"Gerik," Link nearly spat. "I should have known this was your doing. Why don't you stop playing these mind games and fight me like a man."

"_You are the Hero of Time Link, but you were too young to accept your destiny at the time. As such, your spirit was sealed away for seven years till you were old enough,"_ this time it was Rauru's voice from the first time Link had met him.

"What is this?" Link asked of no one, fear beginning to take hold of him. "What's going on?"

The voices continued on, all from people he had met and all from his past. They floated on the air like whispers, but each new one filled Link with more and more dread. Link looked all around him, but he was still unable to see anything or even pinpoint where the voices were coming from. It was like they were all around him.

Link's breathing began to quicken, yet he still refused to give in to his growing fear. He knew that he need to stay sharp if he was going to survive. The voices continued unceasingly, tempting Link to stumble around looking for their source, but Link was not about to give in. Unable to see, all it would have taken was one wrong step and he'd plunge to his death into the ravine.

"_Pathetic child!"_ Ganon's voice now boomed from the darkness. _"Tell me where the Princess has fled. What, do you dare oppose me with that puny sword?"_

Link instantly remembered this. It was the first time he had been face to face with Ganon. Princess Zelda had just fled the castle, and Ganon was in hot pursuit. He had been young and foolish enough to try and stop Ganon from giving chase, only to be met with a dark energy attack that sent him flying to the ground. As soon as Link thought of this, he heard the air around him crackle the same way it had when Ganon gathered the energy for his attack. He then heard the attack flying through the air toward him and he quickly dove to the ground.

He heard the attack fly over his head, but still couldn't tell where it came from. It sounded as if it came from every direction at once and then went off in every direction as well. Link didn't have time to ponder this as now the area was becoming filled with the sounds of warfare. The once calm voices of his past were now screams of pain and terror, many calling out Link's name in anguish. Metal clashed and explosions rocked the area, but surprisingly the ground did not shake.

Amazingly, none of the fighting seemed to be centered around where Link was laying on the ground. Not wanting to be caught defenseless though, Link quickly stood up and raised his sword. Since he couldn't see, he closed his eyes and tried to focus on hearing, but there was just too much noise coming from each direction. A sudden thought then occurred to Link. He had yet to hear any sound come from Epona. He had yet to hear her even stir from where she slept.

He was about to call out her name when a loud roar split the night. Unlike the others, it came from above and sounded as if it was getting closer. There was another roar, this time followed by what sounded like an eruption of fire. Link was now definitely sure whatever was making that noise was moving. It was after the third roar that Link recognized the creature. It sounded just like the dragon Volvagia, and it was coming straight for Link.

Link focused all his attention on listening to the Dragon's movements. He tried to block out all other noise, but it proved more difficult than he thought, especially since he was still in danger of being struck down by some unseen enemy. Link prepared himself as he waited for the dragon. Link soon heard a loud inhalation, and knowing what was to come next he quickly dove out of the way as far as he could.

Unfortunately, Link slammed his head hard into the nearby cliff wall. As all consciousness began to slip away, all the sounds around him instantly faded into nothing.


	11. A Harrowing Adventure

Link awoke the following morning with Epona nudging his head with her muzzle. He was groggy and he had a splitting headache. He coughed a few times from the dirt he inhaled through his mouth during the night. Slowly, Link began to move his aching body. With much pain and effort, he managed to push himself up and into a sitting position.

Link's vision was blurry at first, but after a few blinks began to clear. Before doing anything else, he instinctually reached down to his canteen and downed its entire contents to quench his parched throat. When Link was finished, Epona walked over and began to nuzzle Link. Link looked over to her and began to pet her. As he did so, the previous night's events came rushing back to him.

Link quickly jumped to his feet. Epona was fine, apparently unharmed. So was he. Except for the headache, which he himself caused, he was untouched. Link looked himself over from head to toe, searching both front and back, yet the worst he found was some dirt and a few tears on his tunic. He didn't understand. Why was he still alive? Why hadn't he even been attacked? Trying to make sense of all this, Link looked up only to be faced with more questions.

The area all around him was completely undisturbed. The ground was smooth. No bodies or weapons littered the region and despite hearing several explosions there was no trace that even one bomb had been set off. The only footprints Link could see belonged to Epona and himself. Link quickly looked up into the sky, but there was no trace of the dragon or even any scorch marks upon the ground or rock walls from the dragon's flame burst.

None of this made any sense to Link. He just continued to stare around him, trying to figure out what exactly had happened the previous night. He couldn't see anything because of Lord Arcana's spell, but there was no denying how real the sounds were. As it finally dawned upon him, Link just looked up and began chuckling.

"Illusions," he laughed. "They were illusions from my past. That's why there's no trace of them; they weren't real. Ha ha, and Lord Arcana helped me. His spell prevented me from seeing them and losing my mind."

Link's laughter subsided little by little as the realization that he still had a long way to go dawned on him. What was worse was that he was going to have to continue on foot. He wasn't even sure that he could get himself across the ravine let alone Epona as well. Knowing that he should get going sooner rather than later, Link set to work getting ready to go it alone.

Having to cut his food and water supplies severely, Link threw two canteens of water around his shoulders and stuffed as much food as he could into a pouch. He secured his sword and shield as well as his bow and quiver of arrows on his back and then tied his now nearly empty bomb bag to his belt. He tied whatever was left back up to Epona's saddle.

"Well girl," Link said to Epona as he petted her head, "it looks like it's time to go our separate ways. I don't know how long I'll be, so I want you to head back to the castle, okay? Don't worry, I'll be fine. Now get going."

Link tapped Epona's backside and she took off at a slow trot back down the mountain path. He then turned toward the ravine and with an exasperation walked up to its edge. There was only one way he could make it across, but he wasn't sure if it would work. He hadn't attempted it in almost eight years, and he couldn't be sure he even still had it in him.

Link reached into his tunic and pulled out a green, see-through, diamond shaped gem. In its core was a deep, forest green colored sphere from which radiated a green aura. Though only as big as his hand, Link could sense the immense cosmic energy within. While its power paled considerably in comparison to that of the Triforce, it was still a gift from the goddesses. It wasn't just any goddess either, but the very same that created the Triforce of Courage that once belonged to Link. In his hands Link held the power of Farore's Wind.

Link gripped the gem and closed his eyes. As he did so, he felt the power from the gem flowing into his body. In his mind's eye he pictured the ravine before him, and then on a spot on the other side. He focused on this spot, and once the magic of the gem had consumed his entire being Link's body vanished into thin air only to reappear on the other side of the ravine seconds later. He didn't feel a thing during the teleportation, yet he knew when it was over when he felt the magic return to the gem.

Link opened his eyes and breathed in relief when he saw that he was on the other side of the ravine. Not wanting to waste anymore time, he placed the gem back into his tunic and continued on up the mountain path. He looked up into the sky to try and determine what time it was, but the same magic that protected him against the illusions the night before was now preventing him from doing something as simple as figuring out the time of day. By now he should've been used to this, but old habits die hard.

The trek was more difficult without Epona than Link had hoped it would be. As he trudged forth, he could sense that the incline of the path was gradually becoming steeper. This was only the tip of the iceberg however. Link knew things were only going to get worse the closer he got to the Queen Fairy.

Time passed but still it appeared as if Link had made no progress. He could look behind him and see the meandering path and know he had come far, but to look ahead it seemed as if nothing changed. The scenery remained as rocky and barren as when he started with no signs of ceasing.

Link's mouth was parched. He had gone what seemed like hours, and quite possibly had been since he could not tell, without any break whatsoever. As thirsty as he was, Link allowed himself only a quick swig. His water supplies were limited, and since he had no idea how far he still needed to go nor seen anyplace to refill his reservoirs he needed to conserve what water he did have. Food was a little more expendable considering he had gone days without eating on many occasions before.

With his body crying out for a bit of rest, the path before Link finally changed. In fact, it stopped dead. Before Link was now a sheer cliff wall, on which grew strong thick vines that grew from the wall's foot all the way to its top. The vines were odd though. In addition to the natural green ones that Link was used to, there were also red, blue, orange, purple, and yellow vines all intermingled up the wall. Link found this weird, but nonetheless walked up to the wall ready to climb.

Link took a firm grip of one of the yellow vines, as they dominated the bottom, and then reached for a purple as he prepared to start his climb. The second he grabbed the purple vine, however, it ripped free from the wall and Link fell back, but since he was only inches from the ground landed on his feet. Link looked up at the vine which was now moving by its own accord back into the spot it had ripped free of. As he stared in wonderment, he realized this climb would be harder than originally thought.

He took hold of the same yellow vine he had before and then looked carefully at all the others trying to determine which ones were firmly rooted to the wall. Unfortunately, they all appeared to be equally rooted. With no choice but to hope the one he picked would hold, Link grabbed a green vine above his head. He grabbed it cautiously, not wanting to slip again even if he was close to the ground. The vine held, and he gripped it more firmly pulling himself upward.

Now that he was starting to make progress he grabbed a red vine hastily, but it to held and Link pulled himself further upward. Not wanting to slow momentum, he grabbed another yellow vine which immediately ripped free of the wall. Link lost his balance and fell several feet down on his back. Looking up from where he had fallen, he saw the vine replace itself just as the other had.

Link crawled up off the ground, he had had much worse falls than that in his life, and stared at the intermingling colored vines. These vines were obviously magical in some way, or at least enchanted, and it appeared that there was a pattern on how to climb up. Link just had to figure out what that pattern was. He was now wishing that Zelda, or even Navi had come with him. They probably would've been able to figure it out instantly.

"The pattern is obviously in the colors," Link said aloud to himself, hoping that by doing so the answer would come easier. "But what is it? I don't have all day to try out every combination."

He began looking around him on the surrounding walls hoping that they held some sign, but there was nothing to be found. Link looked at the ground as well, but still nothing but dirt and rock. Something in the back of his mind was telling him that he recognized those colors. While seemingly random, there was something about those six colors being together that bothered Link.

"Yellow, green, red, blue, purple, and orange," Link repeated to himself for the dozenth time. "Yellow, green, red, blue, purple, and orange."

Time was whittling away, and still he was no closer to an answer. Link began pacing back and forth, staring from time to time at the wall. Zelda and Navi aside, he should have at least brought one of the Sages with him. It wasn't like they were terribly useful at the moment since they were sealed off from the Sacred Realm.

Dawning appeared on Link's face and he stopped dead in his tracks. He quickly looked at the wall, specifically the six different colored vines. They matched perfectly. They were the same colors that represented the six Sages of Hyrule. He had grabbed the yellow vine first, which corresponded to the first medallion he receive from Rauru, which was yellow. The next vine he grabbed that didn't fall free had been green and the next red, which corresponded to the order he received the Sage's medallions in.

Link had to climb up the wall grabbing the vine which represented the next color medallion he had acquired from the Sages. It was to be yellow, then green, red, blue, purple, and orange. But what would happen when he got to the end? There was no way he could reach the top in six climbs. He had no choice but to hope the pattern just repeated itself. With a renewed sense of optimism, Link began his climb once again.

* * *

Zelda sat upon her father's throne, her head slumped in her hand. Around her, the room was silent and empty save for the Royal Guards. Despite it being midday, only shadow filtered down through the skylight casting the throne room in a dreary atmosphere. 

Zelda's eyes were closed, deep in thought. The only sound she could hear was that of her own breathing. She didn't know what to do, what she was supposed to be doing. Lord Arcana had yet to make a move, and as far as anyone knew he had yet to step out of his tower. What was worse was that there had been no word yet from Link. Sure it had been only a day, but every second apart was only increasing the worry in Zelda's heart.

Finally, she opened her eyes and lifted her head. She put both her hands together, and wondered what she should do. She could always launch an attack against the tower, and hopefully by doing so prevent Link from dying like in her vision. But there had also been a scene where she saw the outside of the tower littered with the bodies of soldiers. What if her launching this attack is what leads to their deaths and turning the premonition true.

But then again, if she does nothing they may die as well. As much as her visions were a gift, they were also a curse. It's a double-edged sword. She knew what the end result would be, but not how it came about, so there was no way to ensure that it did come true or try to prevent it. Her head was beginning to hurt. There were just too many possibilities, too many routes that she could take, and there was no way to know which were the right paths to take.

Zelda wished she had never had that dream. It was her premonition as a child and her will to prevent it coming true that had enabled Ganon to get his hands on the Triforce and plunge Hyrule into darkness and despair for seven long years. She was older now, more mature, and she was determined not to make the same mistakes she had as a child. The only problem was that she did not know what to do.

As her thoughts began to linger and repeat themselves over in her mind, the doors to the throne room flew open. Zelda looked up, all previous thought gone, and saw Malon. She was walking toward her in a kind of daze, and as she approached Zelda she saw the look of pain on her face, as if she were on the verge of tears. Zelda stared at her suspiciously, but it wasn't until she noticed that Malon was looking at the floor and avoiding her gaze that she realized what Malon had come to say.

"Um . . . Zelda," began Malon, her voice barely audible as Zelda's lips began to quiver, "it's your father. He's . . . he's fading fast."

Zelda didn't wait to see whether Malon was finished or not, nor did she care. She jumped up off the throne and dashed out of the room. She sped down the castle's intricate hallways, tears already beginning to form behind her eyes. Nothing could stop her as she nearly bowled over a couple soldiers in her frenzy to reach her father's bedchamber. When she reached the elaborate doors however, she stopped dead, unable to go any further.

Zelda stood there, panting, just staring at the doors. Fear gripped her heart, and a few lone tears were squeezing their way out from behind her eyes and down her cheeks. She couldn't even raise her arm to grip the door handle. She knew she had to go in there, but she was not ready to face what she would see.

The sound of footfalls coming down the hallway caught her attention. She looked, half expecting despite the impossibility of it, Link to come walking up to her, embrace her, and then to lead her into her father's room. It wasn't the green tunic of Link that she saw however. It was the beige dress of Malon, who had finally caught up.

Malon saw Zelda staring at her and quickly tried to compose herself for Zelda's sake. She put on a fake smile, but Zelda could see the tears welling up behind Malon's eyes and the sadness they held. Malon walked up to Zelda silently, and the two of them just stared at one another, understanding. Malon put her arm around Zelda's shoulder and led her into the bedchamber.

The two walked silently into the exquisite room, but neither of them were focused on the rooms features. Rather, their eyes fell immediately upon the grand bed before them, and the barely living body within it. Around the room were several doctors, four Royal Guards, Captain Huntley, and the Sages. All eyes fell upon Zelda and Malon as they entered, but nobody said a word as Malon led Zelda toward her father's bed.

When they got to the side of the bed Malon released Zelda and stood back. Despite her reluctance to accept the inevitable, Zelda was nonetheless drawn onward as if by an invisible string, finally kneeling down by the head of the bed. Her father's complexion was pale, as if all blood had been drained from his body. His breathing was slow and labored. The king's face was drawn, and he appeared to have aged fifty years in just the past few days. As Zelda knelt there, lone tears began to flow.

"Dad," Zelda's voice cracked.

King Hyrule turned his head slightly toward Zelda. He opened his eyelids a crack. Even that short amount of movement seemed to have taken a lot out of him, as his breathing became even more labored and his body convulsed slightly.

"Zelda," he managed to say in a hoarse voice.

"I . . . I can't do this without you."

"Zelda . . . Zelda . . . my beautiful daughter," King Hyrule said in a kind of delirium, trying to reach his hand out to touch her face as he said so. Zelda took her father's hand and held it in both of hers. "Never once did you cause me worry. I always knew you'd be a great ruler; a greater one than myself."

"No, I could never be better than you," Zelda cut her father off, tears free flowing now. "You are everything to this kingdom. Please don't leave it, please don't leave me."

"Hyrule will be just fine in your care. I know . . . I know you won't . . . let it down. I . . .I . . . lo . . . lov . . . ."

King Hyrule's half opened eyes slid closed, and his head rolled lifelessly against his pillow. Zelda felt his hand go limp in hers and she cried out, begging him not to leave her, begging him to hold on. Zelda's eyes were clenched as tight as possible, but rivers of tears flowed down her cheeks as she continued to hold her father's hand.

Everyone else in the room remained silent, tears in some of their own eyes for their beloved king. As Zelda continued to wail, off in the distance a bell was sounding, telling all who heard it that Hyrule had lost its king.

* * *

Lord Arcana sat upon his throne, his fingers rapping loudly upon the cold, stone arm of his throne. A smile was spread across his face as he waited anxiously for Gerik to return. Things were going well. The fact that the Hyrulian Army had yet to make a move was only solidifying his victory, and with the Master Sword no more than a few shards of metal, there was no way he could be defeated. 

With a low pop that sounded more like an explosion in the expansive chamber, a small cloud of smoke appeared before Lord Arcana, and standing within it was Gerik. Lord Arcana quickly stood up, and upon seeing the mischievous grin on Gerik's face his own smile widened, knowing that he was about to receive very good news.

"King Hyrule has died," Gerik shouted brightly, sticking his chest out with pride.

"Excellent!" Lord Arcana boasted, his voice seething with a malicious joy as it echoed. "Took the old buzzard long enough, didn't it?"

"Needless to say the princess is completely distraught."

"Good! Now is the perfect time to strike and eliminate her as a threat. With her current state of mind she shouldn't be much of a problem. Of course, Link is probably going to be with her nonstop, and that could pose a problem for us."

"Well, I have some good and at the same time distressing news on that subject sire," Gerik replied slightly shakily, apparently unsure of how he was going to break this news to Lord Arcana.

"Really?" asked Lord Arcana intriguingly but at the same time suspiciously. "Clarify!"

"Link, um, you see he, uh, seems to have disappeared."

"What do you mean _disappeared_?"

"He is nowhere to be found within the castle walls. I searched Hyrule Market, but none of the soldiers there seems to even realize that Link is missing. Within the castle they are aware of his absence, but they have no idea where he's gone to or for what purpose. It's like it's some sort of top-secret mission. The only people close to Link that would know where he had gone would've detected my presence in an instant. The only exception may be that farm girl, but she's always with the others."

"Interesting," Lord Arcana said in a softer and rather amused tone than Gerik had expected. "So Link, what are you up to?"

"He couldn't possibly be trying to fix the Master Sword, could he?" asked Gerik, apprehension noticeable in his voice.

"The Master Sword is a sacred object. There is no power on this planet that could possibly repair that blade. And there's no other object that I know of that could possibly harm us at this point. Very intriguing. I truly do wonder what that boy is up to. Nevertheless, he's just made it easier to take out Zelda. You know what to do."

"I'll begin preparations immediately my lord."

* * *

After the harrowing climb up the cliff wall, Link had finally allowed himself a short half hour break. It was pleasant at the top. No cliff walls surrounded him, so he had an unobstructed view for miles around. He was a lot higher up in the mountains than he had thought. Off in the distance, almost a speck against the grand backdrop Link had a view of, he could make out the towers and parapets of Hyrule Castle. 

He wasn't on the tallest peak of the Northern Mountains, but from where he stood he could see the path he now had to take. He was going to be going downhill now, and from the looks of it extremely deep into the mountains. He could see the path winding on for miles before him, but it's final destination was still a mystery.

The cool breeze that continually swept by was a welcome relief to Link's sweat soaked and aching body. Link just sat there with his eyes closed and head held high as he let the cool air wash over him. He allowed himself a small snack from his limited food and then spent the rest of the time just relaxing and looking around at the serenity around him. He hadn't seen such beauty and tranquility since the days of his childhood, before he recognized his destiny and set off on his first of many adventures.

After a thirty minute rest, or as close as he could guess since he was still without the aid of the sun, Link struggled back up to his feet despite his body's complaints. He made sure all his gear was secure, took a short swig from his canteen, and then continued onward. It was slow going at first as his body protested, but after only fifteen minutes or so he was traveling at the same fast pace he had started with that morning. He had no other choice. If he ran he would tire way too quickly and if he just walked it would take him forever to reach the Queen Fairy.

The cliff walls on either side of him had grown high once again, the same monotonous scenery repeating itself over and over with every mile he trekked. High above him the clouded sky was growing darker by the second. Night was fast approaching, but unlike the previous night Link was determined to continue onward till he couldn't see at all. No longer having the aid of Epona, Link knew he needed to make every second count, every foot traveled matter.

His body groaned in protest as Link was now only able to see a few feet in front of him. He had not rested since climbing the cliff, and his body was just about ready to collapse underneath him. Still he pushed on though. Hyrule, and the entire world, was counting on him to defeat Lord Arcana, and that would only be achieved by reaching the end of this path.

The darkness was now surrounding him. For one brief second Link considered lighting a Deku Stick and traveling by the light it gave off, but he knew he reached his limit. It would do him no good to finally reach the Queen Fairy only to drop dead before her. With buckets of sweat pouring off of him, Link finally stopped walking and sat down.

His muscles groaned more now than when he was walking, and it was a struggle to unhook all of his gear from himself. By the time he had managed it, Link could no longer see anything around him. Because of this he was unable to build a fire, but he had no intentions of it anyway. Instead he took, for the first time that day, a giant swig from his canteen, nearly emptying it, and took some food from his pouch. After his meal, Link laid back and his weary body instantly fell asleep. He went into such a deep slumber that the illusions didn't even bother him that night.

Without the sun's rays the next morning, Link slept blissfully long past sunrise. It was nearly noon by the time he awoke. He was still groggy, but as soon as he realized how late it was his eyes snapped open and he jumped up. Realizing he needed to get a move on and fast, Link quickly reattached all his gear and continued down the trail.

His stomach grumbled hungrily, but with so much time already lost he couldn't afford to sit and make a full meal. Instead he reached into his food pouch and took out several pieces of bread, which he devoured ravenously as he sped his way down the trail. He took more gradual swigs of water than normal as the bread instantly dried up what little moisture Link had in his parched throat. By the time he was finished with his snack, his first canteen was completely empty and he had started on the second. Even though carrying an empty canteen was only more of a burden, he kept it on the off chance he ran across a stream or other source of fresh water.

After several hours of travel, the ground suddenly began to decline rapidly. Link was forced to slow his pace and carefully take each step lest he lose his footing and roll the rest of the way down the trail. He was heading so deep into the mountains now that the cliff walls around him were so high he was having difficulty seeing their tops.

Just as Link didn't think the decline could get any steeper, it finally leveled off. After only a few feet however, it began to rise again in a just as steep incline. Link stopped and stared at the rising path. Going downhill had been one thing, but going uphill on this type of incline was something else. It was going to take even more careful footwork to prevent himself from slipping. Whether it was just his mind playing tricks or not, however, the path appeared to be growing wider as it rose.

Link stared at the path, squinting his eyes and tilting his head as he did so, trying to decide whether what he was seeing was a possible mirage or real. After realizing the path truly was growing wider, his heart leapt for joy and he smiled. He couldn't be positive, but the fact that the path was widening could be evidence that he was nearing his goal.

With a renewed sense of spirit, Link ran up the incline. In his excitement he stumbled quite a few times as he went along but kept himself steady by grabbing hold of the ground beneath him with his hands. Soon enough he was on all fours climbing up the path.

When Link reached the top his eyes lit up with wonder. The path leveled off and opened up into a large, circular nook. The sheer cliff walls of the area were ten feet in height, but the openness took away all sense of claustrophobia. Up above was a clear view of the sky, and if not for Lord Arcana's spell would have offered a spectacular sight. In the center were two rows of stone pillars, long since eroded far beyond recognition. At the end of the rows of pillars on the far wall was a circular, door-sized opening in the rock face. Link smiled at the sight of it.

"It does exist," Link breathed out in relief. "I finally made it."

Link took a deep drink from his canteen and entered the area. He walked with strong confident steps, all his fatigue seemingly vanished. As he neared the center of the area, he heard several loose rocks tumble down the rock cliffs. Link didn't make any sudden movements, but slowed his pace and reached back to grab the hilt of the Biggoron Sword. Slowly he shifted his eyes back and forth on the lookout for any cause of the noise.

All of a sudden he heard it. There was a loud growl, and Link turned around just in time to see a pair of large, white fangs flash before him heading directly for his throat. Link barely managed to unsheathe his sword and cleave the Wolfos' head in half before it connected, but he lost his balance and fell to the ground in the process, the Wolfos' dead remains landing on top of him.

As Link tied to push the heavy beast off of him, he heard several more growls. He looked up to see that he was surrounded by Wolfos. There were eight of them, and they were circling Link with teeth bared. He swallowed hard. If he made any sudden movements, the Wolfos would pounce in an instant, and he knew he wouldn't be able to remove the dead body off of himself and defend before they reached him. He needed a plan, and fast. Unfortunately, all his gear was pinned underneath the beast.

Both of Link's hands were free though, and the Biggoron Sword was still gripped tightly in his left hand. He had an idea, but it would take careful precision. With his right hand he unhooked the Mirror Shield from his back. He couldn't wiggle it out from beneath himself, so he slowly began to pull it out with his hand. All the while he kept a careful watch on the circling Wolfos, watching and waiting for their attack. His arm jerked as it yanked the last bit of the shield out and one of the Wolfos flashed its teeth and charged.

Link summoned all his strength and pushed the dead Wolfos off himself. As he did so he smacked the attacking Wolfos across its head with his shield while he slew another attacking Wolfos on his other side with his sword. The smacked Wolfos fell to the ground in a daze while the remaining six all charged at once. Link rose to his feet and charged straight at the Wolfos in front of him. It leapt up at him, but Link ducked underneath, raising the tip of his blade above him to slice open the Wolfos' underside as it flew over. The animal's blood and innards showered across Link as the animal fell dead.

Link instantly turned around to deflect both a pair of teeth and sharp claws coming right at him. He pushed them back and beheaded one of the animals, but the other charged again for a second attack. Link once again blocked with his shield, the beast's claws cracking in two as they slammed into the polished shield. It yelped out in pain and Link took advantage by driving the Biggoron Sword into its heart. By this time the dazed Wolfos had recovered and was now regrouping with the remaining three still left alive.

The four Wolfos advanced slowly. Link watched them all carefully, slowly backing up as they advanced. He held his shield high in his right hand, but his left arm was drooping. He had long since learned to use the Biggoron Sword with one hand, but it had been such a long time that he'd had a need to that he wasn't used to it and it was taking its toll. He continued to back up, but he didn't know how much farther it was till he ran out of room and hit the wall, and he couldn't afford even a small peek behind him.

The Wolfos growled angrily, their teeth bared all the while. Link was going to have to go on the offensive. If there had just been two left it would've been no problem, but there were four. Without hesitation he charged them, hoping to surprise them as he would a human opponent. The Wolfos weren't phased in the least as they themselves charged forward as well. Just as they were about to connect Link leapt into the air and flew over them. As he did so he stabbed one of the Wolfos and threw his shield down sideways hard splitting another Wolfos' skull open and becoming embedded in its brain.

As soon as Link landed on his feet he whirled around, now grabbing the Biggoron Sword with both hands, and charged forward before the last two Wolfos could turn around. He slashed off the hind legs of one of the Wolfos, its yelp of pain earsplitting. Link quickly finished it off and turned to attack the last Wolfos, but by this time it had leapt at one of the stone pillars and pushed off of it in Link's direction. Link quickly brought his sword up horizontally to block the Wolfos' sharp teeth from finding their mark.

The impact of the hit sent the two to the ground. Link was once again on his back, the Wolfos standing over him with its jaw securely locked around his blade. Small trickles of blood dripped down its mouth and onto the sword, but the beast didn't seem to mind in the least. Link's arms were beginning to shake as he fought against the beast's raw power. In a last ditch effort, Link brought his knee up hard into the animal's underside. The Wolfos released its grip on the sword and Link used this small window of opportunity to behead it.

Breathing out deeply, Link stood up and took a look around to make sure there were no more. What had once been a dry, desolate area was now filled with Wolfos bodies and limbs. The ground seemed to soak up the blood thirstily. Link wiped the blood off of his sword and sheathed it. He then began wiping the blood off his face and his clothes as best he could as he walked over toward the Mirror Shield. The blood had just run off its polished surface, so there was no need to clean it.

Hoping that those Wolfos were the last defense protecting the Queen Fairy, Link made his way to the cave opening, and without a second's hesitation he stepped inside.


	12. One by One They Fall

A/N: I apologize for not updating in such a long time, but I recently lost my muse, my own fault. Luckily, I have friends who refuse to give up on me or let me give up, so once again I'm back. This story shall be finished, and then I can move on to my next epic story. Enjoy.

* * *

The tunnel was dark. No torches, lit or otherwise, lined its perfectly smooth, rounded walls. Even the pale light from outside could barely pierce the darkness, poorly illuminating no more than a few feet from the cave entrance. Link peered into the darkness beyond, but to no avail. He instead took out a Deku Stick, snapped it in half, and lit the tip of one of the halves.

With his makeshift torch held out before him, Link proceeded down the tunnel. Not far from the cave entrance the path curved to the right. As he walked, Link noted how perfect the tunnel actually was. There was no possible way it had been created by nature or human hands. There also had to be some enchantment upon it, for there was no way the tunnel's condition could have remained so after all these centuries. Link kept his awe in check, however, as he was prepared for any last minute traps protecting the Queen Fairy's lair as he followed the path.

The curve in the tunnel made a u-turn and then curved off to the right again, making an S-shaped path. Link followed it, wondering why the tunnel was designed this way instead of just a direct path. Was it just another trap, maybe a psychological one designed to intimidate and make you second guess yourself? The complete lack of light in the tunnel certainly lent itself to that idea. Whatever the reason though, Link noticed that above all else it prevented any kind of hasty retreat, and in his eyes that was not a good sign.

The tunnel opened up into a large, circular, domed chamber at the end of the S-shaped path. As soon as Link reached it though, the torch slipped from his hand as his body went limp and his eyes grew wide. Beyond was indeed the Queen Fairy's Fountain, but it was in a state of complete destruction.

The walls of the chamber, which should have been full of magic and glowing brightly, were nothing more than the dull, smooth, curved rock walls of the cave he was in. Before him were two rows of Romanesque, marble columns leading up to the fountain. Most of the columns had collapsed, now lying in many cracked and broken pieces. Those that still stood had long, deep cracks running through them and looked as if they would crumble to dust at just the slightest touch.

At the far end of the chamber was the fountain. It was roughly twice the size of any of the Great Fairy Fountains Link had visited, but it still retained the basic design. It was carved entirely out of white marble, but the centuries of dust that covered it gave it a dull appearance. On the back rim of the fountain stood marble statues of a Kokiri, a Goron, a Zora, a Hylian, a Sheikah, and a Gerudo, and in all of their hands was a jug pointed down toward the fountain. At one time the magical waters of the fountain must have poured forth from those six statues into the basin of the fountain, but no longer. The entire fountain was dried up, several long, deep cracks running through it. Even the magical torches on either side of the fountain were silent.

Hanging above the fountain, seemingly carved out of solid gold, was the Triforce, although the years of accumulated dust made it's golden color look more like a mustard yellow. On each side of the Triforce were carved the three goddesses, each in a different color marble: red for Din, green for Farore, and blue for Naryu.

Unlike the Triforce, which was still in good condition despite the dust, the statues were falling apart. Farore's head had completely fallen off, having smashed into the basin below causing a large crack across her face. A chunk of Din's left cheek was missing, and Naryu had lost both her arms. The rest of their bodies were chipped and cracked in various places.

Link was at a complete loss for words. He had come all this way, gone through all those obstacles, all for the last hope they had of defeating Lord Arcana, and there was nothing here. It was all gone. Whether by time or by attack, the Queen Fairy's Fountain was completely destroyed, and the Queen Fairy herself was either long gone or had passed on.

As if pulled by an invisible string, Link began to stumble forward. He did this unconsciously, his mind still in total shock. No words escaped his mouth as he approached the fountain, only short guttural moans of disbelief. When he finally reached the fountain, he stared into the empty and cracked basin. His attention turned to Farore's head, and as he peered into her lifeless eyes what little hope remained in him began to fade.

"It's over," Link said as he collapsed down onto his knees and lowered his head into his hands. "It's all over. I've failed, and now Hyrule will fall."

Link opened his eyes and noticed that his knee had swept away some of the dust, revealing a golden line. Curious, Link slid back and dusted off the area revealing a golden, square outline with the Triforce within it. It was the same golden engraving Link had seen at all the fairy fountains. As he stared at it, he suddenly remembered Zelda giving him the Ocarina of Time. He quickly reached into his pocket and pulled it out.

Link just knelt there a minute, staring down at the blue ocarina in his hands. With all the other fairy fountains Link had to play Zelda's Lullaby, a symbol of the Royal Family, in order for the Great Fairy to appear. If the same symbol that was in those fountains was here as well, then that should mean he would have to do the same thing. After all, it wasn't just any ocarina he was using but the Ocarina of Time, and if that didn't prove his worth then nothing would. It was a long shot, there was no denying that, but at this point Link was willing to try anything.

Link got to his feet and stood within the golden square. He placed the ocarina up to his lips, and praying that this would work, began to play Zelda's Lullaby. He played without pause, his fingers hitting every note instinctively despite the long time it had been since he played that song. When he was finished, Link lowered the ocarina from his lips, breathed out a sigh, and opened his eyes.

Nothing had changed. It was all exactly the way it had been before he played the song. Link was about to turn away, his last hope extinguished, when he saw a small yet bright light appear in the center of the fountain. It floated up becoming eye level with Link, and then exploded in a bright flash momentarily blinding Link. In the second that flash occurred a large, serpentine form made entirely out of light emerged from the fountain.

"Who dares enter my domain?" declared the Light Serpent as it rose out of the fountain, it's voice echoing in the expansive chamber.

Link dropped the Ocarina of Time and immediately drew his sword and shield. He took a couple steps back from the fountain and got into a defensive position. Link watched apprehensively as the Light Serpent lowered its head to look upon Link. Link tried to stare into its eyes, but all he saw were hollow depressions. The Light Serpent opened its maw, and Link saw what appeared to be several sharp, pointed teeth all of the same golden light as the rest of it. Before Link could decide what to do, the Light Serpent suddenly charged forth at a remarkable speed.

* * *

Malon walked down the castle corridor, a silver tray filled with a couple glasses of juice and a plate of sandwiches held firmly in her hands. The castle was unnaturally quiet. It had been that way ever since King Hyrule's untimely passing. The kingdom was still in mourning, yet there was little they could do given the current circumstances. A proper funeral couldn't even be prepared cause of the need to stay on constant alert. 

What made matters even worse, however, was the reappearance of Epona without Link. For those in the castle that knew Link had gone out on a mission, it was a foreboding sight indeed when Epona was found early that morning out on the castle grounds. Hope was beginning to fade in the hearts of those who once believed that no matter what Hyrule would survive this latest storm.

Unaware of her own surroundings, Malon somehow still managed to find her way to Zelda's bedroom. She was deeply worried about Link as well. She knew that Epona would never leave Link's side unless he ordered her to, or something terrible had happened. This was hardly comforting to her, for she knew Link would never tell Epona to leave him unless he absolutely had to, and it wouldn't comfort Zelda in the slightest. Still, she hoped that Zelda would at least eat the snack she was bringing her, if nothing else than to keep her strength up.

"Hey, Malon," came a voice from behind just as Malon was about to knock on the ornate bedroom doors.

Malon turned around to find Captain Huntley walking up to her. His golden helm was held in his arms allowing Malon a clear look at the sour expression even he was wearing.

"Oh, hello captain," she replied.

"Those for the princess," he said nodding toward the tray in her hands. "How's she doing?"

"Well how would you be if your father was dead and your lover was currently MIA?" Malon responded a little sarcastically, but she knew that the captain had Zelda's best interests at heart. "She's completely distraught. I'm worried about her."

"Princess Zelda is strong. She'll be alright."

"That's what I'm afraid of. In her condition she's liable to do something crazy."

"Well I was about to ask her if she would like me to send out a search party for Link. If something did happen, there's a chance he may still be alive."

"No! Don't ask her. She'll more than likely demand to lead the search party. She cannot lead in this state, and since both the king and Link are gone, you'll have to start making decisions around here."

"Me?!" Captain Huntley replied with surprise. "I'm just a soldier though. I know about war, not how to lead a kingdom."

"Well we're in a state of war now, aren't we captain? You're the best we've got right now."

Before Captain Huntley could respond, the doors to Zelda's bedroom were thrust open and out stepped Zelda. Her hair was a frizzled mess and her dress was severely wrinkled, yet no tears were present in her eyes, only a fierce look of determination. She nearly plowed right into Malon and Captain Huntley, but quickly stopped short with a look of surprise as if she wasn't expecting either of them to be there.

"Ah, Captain Huntley," Zelda said, her voice still weak yet confident. "I was just going to get you. I need you to ready my horse."

"Your horse?" Captain Huntley said in a voice that matched the perplexed look on his face.

"Yes, I'm going after Link," she responded determinately, although her voice quivered slightly as she said Link's name.

"But Zelda," came Malon's pleading voice, "you're needed here. I'm sure that wherever Link is he's perfectly fine."

"Malon, I know you're just trying to help, but stow it. Wherever Link is, he's in danger. I can feel it."

"Captain Huntley!" cried a new voice from down the hall. "Captain, sir."

Captain Huntley, Malon, and Zelda all turned to look at the newcomer. It was one of the castle guards. He was running up to them as fast as he could. By the way he was breathing it was clear he had been putting his all into finding them, and the look on his face revealed that something important was up.

"What?!" exclaimed Captain Huntley, easily recognizing that something was up. "What is it?"

"It's . . . it's Link sir," replied the soldier as he reached them. "We just got word from the outer wall. They've spotted Link out in Hyrule Field, but they're confused sir. They have no idea how he got there since they weren't informed he was out on a mission. They say he's pretty beat up, maybe even on death's doorstep. They're not sure what to do."

"Oh no, Link!" exclaimed Zelda, before she turned and vanished on the spot, teleporting herself to the outer wall before anyone could say anything.

"No wait, Zelda!" cried Malon, but it was too late. She turned to Captain Huntley, whose own face revealed he was just as worried as she was. "This can't be good."

* * *

Zelda reappeared on the outer wall, right above the drawbridge, to the surprise of many of the soldiers on duty. She completely ignored them, however, as her eyes quickly scanned the full length of Hyrule Field. She soon spotted him, a lone figure wearing a green tunic that she would've recognized anywhere. 

He was on his knees, his head held low, halfway between Zora's River and Lon Lon Ranch. His right arm was being grasped tightly in his left hand, and he didn't appear to be moving. From this distance Zelda couldn't see the true extent of his injuries, but it was apparent that he was hurt, and badly. The soldiers awaited the princess's orders, but none came.

Instead, Zelda turned and vanished once again, this time teleporting right onto Hyrule Field. As soon as she materialized she ran as fast as she could to where Link was. As she got closer, Zelda could begin to see the sea of red, blood-soaked grass beneath Link. His green tunic was similarly covered in many blood splotches, tears covering the rest of it. Her worry for him mounted the closer she got, especially when she noticed that he wasn't moving at all.

When she was roughly thirty feet away from him, however, Zelda stopped dead in her tracks. Her face instantly grew hard as she stared at the injured Link, her feet firmly planted in the ground.

"You're not Link!" Zelda declared in a voice seething with poison. "Who are you?!"

"Heh heh heh, how very astute of you my dear princess," the imposter Link laughed in a voice Zelda knew only all too well.

The imposter stood up with ease, his injuries as big a facade as his appearance. A wide malicious grin was plastered on his face as he did so. Once fully erect, he stared right into Zelda's fierce, blue eyes with his own red ones. Still smiling, he snapped his fingers and in a bright flash the image of Link was gone, and standing in its place was Gerik. Zelda didn't move an inch, nor did her expression change. She just stood there, staring at Gerik with a deadly gaze.

"Gerik," Zelda spat his name out as if it were venom.

"What's the matter, no hug for your dear old friend?" Gerik said feigning compassion. "You know, for someone who once wielded the Triforce of Wisdom, you're not to bright to have fallen into such an obvious trap."

With another snap of his fingers a large, transparent yet with a blackish hue force field surrounded both Zelda and Gerik. It encompassed an area roughly the size of Lon Lon Ranch and extended upwards to a point twice the height of the outer wall. Zelda didn't move an inch, her gaze fixed upon the smirking Sheikah.

"Where is Link?!" Zelda demanded, her body stiff as a board. "What have you done with him?!"

"I was actually hoping you could answer that for me," Gerik simply replied in his old, good-humored voice. "See I know the green one has left the castle; your security really isn't that good, but then again for a Sheikah no security can keep them out. What I don't know, however, is where our dear friend has run off to."

Zelda just stood there, her lips pressed into a thin line. This was not the Gerik she once knew, the one she had grown up with, yet she knew he was not lying. She could see it in his eyes, always could. Even if he had nothing to do with Link though, this was still the man who threw a poisoned dagger into her father; the man who killed him.

"What is it you want?" Zelda said coldly. "You've already proven you can enter the castle with no problem, so if you wanted me dead we wouldn't be having this conversation right now."

"You're absolutely right," Gerik replied, his smugness irritating Zelda to no end. "Lord Arcana doesn't want you dead, at least not yet. Of course, if you joined us you wouldn't have to die at all. We are going to win you know. It would be in your best interest to come over to our side."

"I'll never join you!"

"Then I guess I'll just have to capture you then."

"Capture this!"

As soon as those words were spoken the area became aglow with the fiery red-orange light of a fireball speeding its way toward Gerik. Gerik quickly ducked his body backwards as the fireball passed harmlessly mere centimeters over him and collided into the force field behind. Once it had passed Gerik quickly snapped back to attention and drew his sword.

"Apparently we'll be doing this the hard way," Gerik said, his voice as if he was relishing the battle to come.

"We're not children anymore," Zelda said as she stood defiantly before him. "You will not find me such an easy target."

Zelda immediately assumed a battle stance, her right arm stretched out before her and her left tucked back toward her. Her body began to glow, and in one bright flash it ended. Gerik looked at Zelda and smirked. Her dress was gone. In it's place Zelda wore a blue, skin tight one piece suit complete with a silver chest plate, spaulders, and vambraces. Her hair was tied back, and with a calm, cold movement she beckoned Gerik to attack.

"Well, this certainly promises to be interesting," Gerik said as he assumed a battle stance, both hands gripping his sword out before him and a gleam in his eye.

Zelda just stood there, waiting for him to make his first move. She didn't have to wait long as Gerik charged at her full speed, his sword ready to strike. It was obvious he was going to hold nothing back. Zelda quickly launched several fireballs from her hands, but Gerik sidestepped them easily. He jumped over the last fireball and then came down upon Zelda who quickly back flipped out of danger timing it just right so that Gerik's sword missed her, yet her feet caught him under the chin as she flipped.

Zelda came out of her flip and immediately assumed a defensive stance. As she watched Gerik sail backwards through the air, she saw him reach behind and pull out what appeared to be several small, black capsules. Gerik tossed the capsules scattering them across the battlefield, and as soon as they hit the ground each capsule began to release a steady stream of thick smoke. The entire area within the force field became filled in seconds, clouding all vision. The smoke was so dense that Zelda couldn't even see her own outstretched hand before her.

* * *

Link sailed through the air, his body slamming with a bone-crunching force into the wall on the opposite side of the Queen Fairy's Fountain before falling into a heap on the floor. His sword and shield landed beside him, his grip on them having been lost with the hit. Pain like never before ripped through Link's body. It took all that Link could muster just to keep himself conscious. 

As Link tried to get his wind back, he could hear the Light Serpent sailing through the air toward him. He didn't have time to wait, the serpent was too fast. His body protesting him the entire way, Link struggled to his knees and looked up. The serpent was nearly on top of him. Quickly, Link managed to grab the Mirror Shield and raise it just in time.

The Light Serpent slammed right into the shield, the force of the hit slamming Link into the wall behind. The serpent continued to push, pinning Link between it and the wall, which to Link's surprise he could swear was beginning to buckle slightly behind him. Link screamed in pain, but he didn't have the strength to push the serpent off of him.

Link had to think of something fast, otherwise he would be crushed to death. His sword was out of reach, and he was pinned so tightly that he was unable to grab any of his other items. He needed to push this creature off of him somehow, but more importantly he needed time to breath, to think. There was only one thing he could think of, the power of Naryu's Love. Unfortunately, Link could barely stay conscious let alone concentrate long enough to pull off that spell. Still, he was left with little option.

Link closed his eyes and tried his best to forget about the immense pain wracking his entire body. A sudden warmness began to creep through his body, extending from the inside out. Link embraced that warmness, urging it to spread farther. As Link felt the warmness tingling along his skin, he gathered what strength he had left and pushed.

Instantly, a blue, diamond-shaped shield formed around Link, pushing the Light Serpent back. With the pressure released, Link slumped forward to the ground. The shield remained, but Link knew it wouldn't be for long. He hadn't had that much strength when he cast it, so it wouldn't be long before it failed. Still, it bought what Link most desperately needed, time.

* * *

Zelda didn't dare move a muscle. She couldn't risk making even the slightest sound, lest give away her position to Gerik. Still, Gerik had the advantage. He was trained to strike from the shadows; this was his environment. Not all was lost, however. Zelda was vulnerable, yes, but not defenseless. She may have been visually blind, but not completely blind. Gerik wasn't the only one with tricks up his sleeve. 

Without hesitation, Zelda began to pool her magic which she then sent out invisibly along the ground from her feet and in a large arc around herself from the rest of her body. Gerik would neither be able to feel nor sense this magical aura, but any disruption within it would instantly be noticed by Zelda. She would still need fast reflexes to avoid harm, but this was far less exhaustive and required much less energy than a full blown shield.

She soon felt it, a humanoid disruption, but it wasn't coming from the ground. Somehow, Gerik's movements and reflexes were so swift that he didn't disturb the ground a bit. That certainly answered how it was impossible to track Sheikah. But Gerik couldn't hide his movements from the aura surrounding Zelda. She could feel his movements from the disruptions as he came at her raising his sword to bring down upon her.

Zelda had little time as she spun around blocking Gerik's strike with her vambrace. The blow cracked through the vambrace, but luckily only the very edge of the sword came into contact with Zelda's arm, causing a small trickle of blood to seep out. Gerik smiled when he saw the thin, red line flow down his blade. He had drawn first blood, and he was enjoying it.

Zelda just stared in disgust before pushing back his blade and somersaulting backwards to put distance between her and Gerik. By now most of the smoke had cleared, only a thin veil remaining. Zelda raised her wounded arm up to examine it, but never did she take her eyes of Gerik. The cut was smaller than she thought and had already ceased bleeding.

"Just give up already Zelda," Gerik said. "You can't beat me. In hand-to-hand combat I'd destroy you, as far as I still know you really have no skill with any sort of weapon, and none of your magic attacks can hit me. Just surrender already."

Zelda's reply came in the form of a concentrated beam of pure energy from the palm of Zelda's hand aimed directly for Gerik's heart. Gerik just shook his head as he nimbly jumped into the air avoiding the attack. Gerik's eyes widened, however, when he noticed Zelda's other hand glowing in a blue light. As Gerik reached the peak of his jump, Zelda flung her glowing hand out sending dozens of small ice daggers speeding toward Gerik.

Unable to dodge them, Gerik raised his arms to protect his face and took the full brunt of the attack. The icy daggers tore their way through his body, causing many scrapes along his arms and legs and several holes in his chest. Gerik collapsed down to the ground where he writhed in pain for a couple seconds as he ripped the daggers that had stuck in his body out.

Zelda didn't wait for him to recover; she couldn't afford to. Before Gerik could get up, Zelda sped toward him with her hands held out to her sides. As she ran, her hands became engulfed in fire. Once she was close enough Zelda leapt into the air and brought her flaming hand down, but Gerik saw it at the last moment and rolled out of the way. Zelda came again, but Gerik quickly hopped to his feet. Zelda threw punch after punch, not stopping till Gerik raised his sword to defend at which point Zelda backed off and her hands returned to normal.

"I may not be able to beat you," Zelda said, smoke rising off her hands as she stood there breathing heavily, "but I can outsmart you."

As soon as those words left her lips, Zelda raised both arms in the air and a bright light engulfed the area. Now that Gerik was blinded Zelda moved in to strike. Gathering energy up in her hands, she prepared for a point-blank shot. Just as she was about to deliver it, Gerik jumped up and over Zelda, drop kicking her from behind and sending her sprawling to the ground as he did so. He had seen the attack coming and protected his eyes from the blinding light.

Zelda quickly got to her hands and knees, but Gerik was already over her. He dealt a swift kick to her mid section sending to back to the ground several feet away. Before Zelda could even move he was upon her again, picking her up by the neck of her suit. Bringing her to eye level, Gerik then proceeded to slap Zelda repeatedly.

"Why . . . won't . . . you . . .give . . . up?" Gerik screamed at her, each word interrupted with another slap to the face.

"Cause I'd rather die a hero than as a disgrace," Zelda managed weakly as her mouth began to fill with blood.

As she said this, Zelda raised her hand up to Gerik's chest, and before he could respond she blasted him. Zelda couldn't summon the strength required to kill him, but she managed to put enough into the blast that it sent him flying to the other side of the force field. Freed from his grasp, Zelda fell to the ground, but she quickly gathered herself and stood up. As she struggled to remain standing, she heard Gerik laughing.

"Now is that really the best you can do Zel?" Gerik asked.

Zel. Zelda's legs nearly collapsed beneath her at the mere mention of the name. She hadn't been called that since she was a little girl, and even then by only one person; the same person she was now fighting against. Tears came to Zelda's eyes, but with them also came a rage, one that Zelda wasn't even aware she had.

"Only one person is allowed to call me that!" Zelda said, her voice filled with same venomous tone as earlier. "You are not that person."

"But I am Gerik," he replied smugly. "I'm the one who used to called that when we were younger. Don't you remember Zel?"

"The Gerik I knew, the Gerik I grew up with, the Gerik I treated as if my own brother, died a year ago. I don't know what you are, but you are not him. You're just an illusion, a trick by Lord Arcana designed to hurt us. The Gerik I knew would never turn his back on Hyrule, on me."

"The Gerik you knew. What did you know about me? You knew me as a child, that's all. I went away to the Lost Woods, remember. You don't know what I saw, what I did, who I became. What if I were to tell you that I've been with Lord Arcana since the beginning? Don't you find it odd, how I happened to return when Lord Arcana launched his invasion a year ago. He and I both supposedly died, but yet here we are alive and well."

All color drained from Zelda's face. "No . . . no . . . it can't be true. It's . . . it's a lie!"

"Not so confident, are we? Well I'm not saying it is true, but I'm not saying it's not either. But it does make you think. A lot of what I said makes sense."

Instead of weakening her resolve as Gerik had hoped, his words had he opposite effect. Zelda just looked up, and stared straight at Gerik with her deathly gaze.

"If that is so," Zelda said, her voice calm, "than no longer are you the man I once called friend. This ends here and now. You shall pay for your treasons, and for the murder of my father."

With her words still hanging in the air, Zelda closed her eyes and, as she began to focus all her energy, slammed her hands together in front of her. Gerik didn't recognize the hand movement, but as soon as he saw Zelda beginning to glow in a golden light, his eyes widened and fear spread through his body like wildfire.

"Oh crap!" he shouted to himself. "That's the Heaven's Light!"

Gerik was too far away to reach Zelda in time before she finished casting the spell, but she was still vulnerable and he still had an opportunity. Quickly he pulled out several daggers and wasted neither time nor effort in tossing them at Zelda. The daggers sped through the air, but before they could hit her they collided with some invisible force and fell to the ground at Zelda's feet. Gerik just stood in shock. Zelda had apparently learned to put a shield up around herself when performing the Heaven's Light.

The spell ready, Zelda thrust out her arms and an aura of golden light spread forth from her at remarkable speed. Gerik just smiled and laughed though. He wasn't subject to the same rules as Zelda, and since he was one of Lord Arcana's minions he could pass through the force field at any time. Wasting no effort, Gerik teleported himself directly outside the force field as the golden aura passed over the spot he had just been standing in.

The golden aura continued to expand, consuming the entire area within the force field and then coming into contact with it. Sparks of great power began to surge across where the two forces met. The pure light of the Heaven's Light and the pure darkness of the force field battled against one another. The energy between the two polar spells soon became too great, and it exploded blinding all of Hyrule in an intense light.

When it was over, the force field had been destroyed, and Zelda lay unconscious upon the ground. Gerik sheathed his sword and then walked casually over to Zelda's still form. Had the spell hit, Gerik would've been vaporized. Instead it left Zelda completely drained and ripe for the picking.

As Gerik bent down and scooped Zelda up into his arms, the drawbridge to Hyrule Market slammed down and dozens of soldiers rushed out. To Gerik's delight he saw Navi leading them. He waited till they were close enough that he could see Navi's face, and the look of complete horror upon it. He waited until he was positive she was staring right at him, and then flashed her a grin before tossing a Deku Nut and he and Zelda vanished from sight.

* * *

Link struggled to his feet and stumbled over to where his sword was. It was a time like this he wished Navi or Zelda was there to give him a quick healing spell. The Light Serpent remained sailing through the air, not once attempting to attack Link while Naryu's Love was still surrounding him. With sword back in hand Link wiped the blood coming from his mouth and then sheathed his sword. He took out his bow instead, and readied an arrow for when his shield failed. 

He didn't have to wait long as the shield was already beginning to waver. Once it had collapsed Link quickly drew his bow and fired. The arrow passed right through the Light Serpent as if it were air. Link cursed, but didn't falter. He knew he couldn't afford to. He quickly readied another arrow, but now the Light Serpent was coming straight at him, it's giant maw wide open and teeth bared.

Since a regular arrow didn't work, Link transformed this one into a Fire Arrow and fired. This one sailed up and straight through the Light Serpent's mouth, but it had as much success as the first. With the Light Serpent quickly closing the gap between the two, Link readied another arrow and transformed it into an Ice Arrow. He released, but one again the arrow did nothing. Since this was a creature of pure Light, Link didn't try a Light Arrow. He just dove out of the way as the Light Serpent crashed into the ground where Link had been standing mere seconds before.

Not wasting the opportunity, Link drew his sword and lunged at the Light Serpent. He made a long vertical slash along the serpent's body, but his sword passed harmlessly through the light. Not willing to believe what he just saw, Link slashed again and again, each time getting the same result. As Link was doing this, the Light Serpent brought it's tail up behind Link, and while he was distracted it quickly wrapped it's tail around Link, lifted him off the ground, and flung him into one the still standing columns, which immediately toppled upon impact.

As Link freed himself from the rubble, he was at a loss. No weapon he had could harm this thing, and its power was immense. Link couldn't even understand why it was here in the first place, or why it was trying to kill him. The sound of rushing air caused Link to look up and he saw the Light Serpent flying around the ceiling of the cave, readying itself for another strike.

As Link stood there at a complete loss of what to do, he remembered exactly what happened when the Light Serpent had appeared. Thinking back, it had showed no aggressive act, just simply asked who he was. It had been Link who had drawn his sword and shield in assumption of the worst, an act which could have been interpreted as an act of aggression.

Link looked up again. The Light Serpent had finished its revolution and was now on another crash-dive attack aimed straight at him. Link had an idea though. It was crazy, and if it failed he would most assuredly die, but if he didn't try he was dead anyway. As the Light Serpent quickly closed the gap, Link stepped out of the rubble and stood firmly. Link then tossed the Biggoron Sword and Mirror Shield to the ground and flung his arms out to his sides, leaving himself completely vulnerable.

"My name is Link," he shouted to the creature, "and I am the Hero of Time!"

The Light Serpent came to a complete stop mere inches away from Link's face. It turned its head slightly, as if studying Link. Then, the Light Serpent simply turned away from Link and flew over toward the fountain, nose-diving right into it. As the last of its tail entered the fountain, a wave of myriad colors came out of the fountain and washed over the entire area. To Link's bewilderment, the Queen Fairy's Fountain began to repair itself.

As if time were reversing itself, Link watched as the crumbled columns pieced themselves back together and stand fully erect once more. Not one single crack could be found in any of them. The fountain itself began to seal its own cracks as the remains of the goddess's statues floated up and took their rightful places around the golden Triforce, whose bright, shining color had returned. Water now began to flow from the six statues standing behind the fountain, and as the magical waters entered the basin Link watched in wonderment as the cave walls once again became full of magic and color.

Link now walked hesitantly up to the fountain, and as he did so the torches on either side burst into flame, completing the restoration of the fountain. Link then heard a sound in the water, and looking up he saw a young woman rising from the fountain, and he just stood in awe of her beauty. Appearance wise, she didn't look much older than Link, in fact she looked even younger. She had a small, round face with eyes a deep sea of blue. Long, soft, forest green hair flowed from her head covering her bare breasts, of which she was amply endowed. In fact, only a small cloth along her waist was the only clothing covering her silky skin.

"Welcome Hero of Time," the young woman said in a melodious voice while smiling with childlike glee. "I am Minerva, the Queen of the Fairies."


	13. Let the Training Begin

Link just stood there. He neither moved nor spoke, his eyes transfixed upon Minerva. He was captivated by her beauty, there was no denying that, but there was something more. Dozens of thoughts and feelings were welling up within him all at the same time. There was a sense of joy and relief that it was all over, that all his hardships had finally granted him access to the Queen Fairy, but there was also confusion, and a little anger that once again he had been put through another test, and from the way his body wanted to collapse a very physically exhausting test at that.

"I know why you have come," Minerva continued in her soft tones after letting the brief shock Link experienced at his first sight of her wash away, "and I know what it is you seek. The Master Sword has shattered, and you hope that I can repair the Sword of Evil's Bane."

Still unable to find the strength to speak, whether from exhaustion or still from shock, Link just dumbly nodded his head. Minerva seemed to find this amusing and giggled like a little girl before continuing.

"That wish is within my power to grant. I can repair the Master Sword, but I won't."

Link stumbled and nearly fell over as the hope he once held instantly vanished. His smile was replaced with silent stuttering and his wide eyes full of wonderment were now filled with disbelief. Slowly, sounds began making their way up his throat and out his mouth, followed by words.

"But . . . but you have to," Link said, his voice relaying the confusion he felt. "Don't you understand? There's a madman running around Hyrule. Innocent people are suffering, and Hyrule itself is on the verge of collapse. Only the Master Sword can prevent this."

"I know full well about Lord Arcana and what is currently transpiring," Minerva replied calmly as she looked Link straight in the eyes, her mouth losing its smile and turning more serious. "I see and know all that happens within the realm of Hyrule."

Link's eyes flashed red. Without realizing, his fists had become clenched, his knuckles instantly turning white. He just stared up at Minerva, not willing to believe what he had just heard. But Minerva just stood there, staring back. She still wasn't smiling, but her face had a serenity to it that to Link made her look smug considering what she had just said.

"You knew!" Link finally shouted, his voice echoing loudly in the expansive chamber. "You knew all along, and you did nothing. You just sat back while innocent people died." A sudden realization dawned on Link, and his stare grew colder. "And this isn't the first you've sat back either. Ganon's attempt to seize power, the War of the Triforce, all of Hyrule's past wars, the near extermination of the Sheikah . . . you watched it all happen. How many innocent lives are on your hands? You're supposed to be the protector of Hyrule."

"Your feelings are perfectly natural, but utterly misguided," Minerva replied when Link had finally finished, her voice and demeanor calm as if Link hadn't just been yelling at her moments before. "It is not my place to interfere in the affairs of mortals. Who am I to decide whose side to be on, of who is right, and who is wrong?"

Link stared at her incredulously, as if she had just grown an extra head. "You can't be serious," he said. "You don't honestly believe that Lord Arcana is in the right do you, or that Ganon was?"

"Right and wrong, good and evil, light and dark, they are all just words, their meanings only relevant in the eye of the beholder. What you see as right and wrong is not the same as what everyone else sees. In Lord Arcana's eyes, for instance, he views himself as being in the right while you stand on the wrong side. How right, how fair would it be for me to choose one side over the other, when each one believes that what they are doing is for the benefit of all involved?"

"Because people like Lord Arcana and Ganon are monsters," Link argued. "They think of nothing but themselves, and could care less about who they step on in their mad grab for power. They have no morals, no sense of decency. In their eyes the world belongs to them and everyone in it lives only to serve them."

At this Minerva chuckled slightly, to which Link just stared at her confusedly. Finished with her laugh, Minerva turned to look down upon Link again, a smile on her face. She was happy that he was not so easy to connive, to switch his views, but at the same time frustrated that he refused to relinquish his point even after proved wrong. That would prove troublesome down the road.

"You say they have no morals," Minerva said, "but they do. Granted, they aren't the same morals that you follow. What if I were to tell you that Lord Arcana would kill hundreds in his seizure of Hyrule, but once in power he would bring about an age of peace and prosperity to the land as never before seen? Thousands would benefit. Does that still make him an evil man?"

For once Link didn't strike back immediately. He bit his lower lip as he tried to come up with what to say next, and Minerva's smile grew. He was beginning to falter, to finally see the truth. "It . . . it still doesn't make it right though," Link finally managed to say. "If he has such grand plans, why can't he implement them without bloodshed?"

"My dear Link, I am not trying to say that Lord Arcana is in the right, but I am not saying that you are either. Every living thing is shaped by their own beliefs, by their own experiences. Had you been raised by Ganon, do you not think there would be a chance that you would have followed him into battle against Hyrule? After all, you would have been raised by his ideals. On the same token, do you not believe it possible that had Ganon grown up in a proper Hylian family, that he would have turned out good? These are not definite assumptions of course, but still, you have to wonder. We are not born inherently good or inherently evil. We each have within us the power to go down either road, and it is our decisions in life that will lead us down one path or another."

Link was silent. His eyes turned down to the floor, his shoulders drooping slightly. Link's face appeared to be nothing more than a blank expression, but it was easily recognizable that underneath the surface he was deep within thought. Minerva breathed out a sigh of relief and continued to smile, knowing that she had finally gotten through his thick Hylian skull.

"Now you understand," continued Minerva after allowing Link more than enough time to think about it. "Now you understand why it is not my place to interfere. The Goddesses granted me with immense power, but they also granted me the wisdom to use that power correctly. It is not my place to be judge for this land, only to watch over it and ensure that this gift given to us by the Goddesses, Hyrule, lives on. As long as I maintain the balance, Hyrule shall survive."

Link's eyes had darted back up to her the second Minerva had begun speaking again, but now he lifted his whole head to gaze upon her fully. He took in every word she said, realizing that she knew more than he could ever hope to in a thousand lifetimes.

"But . . .," he began, "but the balance has been destroyed. The Master Sword is destroyed, and without it evil shall run unchecked throughout the lands of Hyrule. Where is the balance if the light has lost it's greatest weapon against the dark?"

"Ah, you are learning," Minerva replied happily. "You are right of course. With the Master Sword destroyed the balance between good and evil has been disrupted, and only with the blade's return can that balance be restored."

"But then why won't you repair the Master Sword?" Link said, anger creeping into his voice again. "You just said it yourself, it's your job to maintain the balance."

"Because," Minerva responded back sternly and without sympathy, "in your hands repairing the blade would be useless. Were I to repair the sword, in your current state a battle with Lord Arcana would result in the same thing: the Master Sword being destroyed, you being defeated, and this time Lord Arcana finishing you off."

"I won't lose again," Link said determinedly. "I'll admit he caught me off guard last time, but I won't let him get to me again. Besides, can't you maybe make the Master Sword stronger so that it's less likely to be broken?"

Minerva sighed and shook her head solemnly. "After all this time you still don't understand. You've yet to realize the true power of the Master Sword."

After looking back up and seeing Link's confused expression, Minerva continued, "The Master Sword is just that, a sword. Sure, it was created by the Goddesses, and yes, they blessed it with their divine power, but in the end it is nothing more than a sharpened piece of metal. Its power, the power to destroy evil, comes not from the sword itself, but from its wielder. The Sword of Evil's Bane draws its strength from the one who holds it, and the more noble, more pure their heart is, the more powerful the sword becomes."

Link looked up at Minerva with an expression akin to looking hurt. When he spoke, his voice was soft, almost demoralizing. "So . . . so you're saying my heart is no longer pure, that I . . . that I don't have the strength required to beat Lord Arcana?"

Minerva was taken aback. She had not expected this response from Link. She had expected something more along the lines of anger, of confidence, even a little arrogance, but here was an almost broken man. Apparently Link's defeat at the hands of Lord Arcana had had a much more profound effect upon him than even she realized.

"Yes," Minerva answered, "but it is through no fault of your own. The innocence of childhood has long since past, and you have seen and been through much during your lifetime. Did you not ever wonder why you were sealed away for those seven years? Rauru said it was because you were not yet ready to take up the mantle of Hero of Time, that much is true. But those seven years would have been much better used if you were given proper training and guidance, would you not think so?"

Link didn't answer, but he stared at Minerva intently. He had honestly never given it much thought. He had simply taken Rauru at his word and without a second thought just took the Master Sword and went on his way. There had been no reason to at the time. Link knew what he had to do, and he did it without pause. But know, thanks to Minerva's words, he was beginning to wonder why. He had been only a mediocre swordsman at best at the time, learning only as he went along since he had no formal training. The Sages certainly could have prepared him better.

Seeing that her words had struck a chord, Minerva continued, "There was a reason, an important one. It was to ensure that your heart remained pure. As a child, you were blessed with the greatest gift of all, innocence. In many ways, a child is far superior to any adult. They don't see the world in black and white, nor classify it in such cut and dry terms. They see it for what it truly is. Their understandings are more complex than most adults realize, which is why they often foolishly sum it up as childish nonsense. To view the world through a child's eyes is to see the truth."

"That's it," Link said in disbelief, "that's the big answer? Because I grew up I can no longer use the Master Sword to its full potential?"

"Such simple-mindedness," Minerva said a little irritably. "That is but a part of it. You were also sealed away to protect you from witnessing the horrors unleashed upon Hyrule by Ganon."

"For what purpose?" Link interrupted. "If I had witnessed, it only would've strengthened my resolve to defeat Ganon."

"That may be true, but that's not the point. Even with a strengthened resolve you would not have had the strength to defeat Ganon. Witnessing those horrors would only have expanded the darkness within your own heart, thus reducing the Master Sword's own power against the evil."

"There is no darkness within my heart," Link shouted, his face screwing up in anger.

Minerva shook her head, and trying to control her own growing rage she replied, "Such single-minded arrogance makes you no better than the men you fight against. Every one of us has light and dark within their heart. We must, for just as neither light nor dark can exist without the other, neither can we exist without both in our hearts. The difference between you and people like Lord Arcana is how much you allow that darkness to corrupt yourself. But even someone as noble and righteous as you, if given the right incentive, could easily take up arms alongside the likes of Lord Arcana if the darkness within their heart is stirred."

The snap remark Link was ready to say didn't come, but was rather exhaled in the breath of a sigh as he heaved his shoulders and let them drop. He glanced back down toward the ground, Minerva's words cutting through him like a knife. When he looked back up and spoke, his voice was once again calm.

"So you're saying I've given into the darkness?"

Minerva smiled. "Only as much as any other person in your position. It all revolves around emotions. Experiences evoke feelings, feelings grow into emotions, and then emotions turn into actions. Depending on what our actions are determines whether we become light or dark, but it's the emotions in the first place that lead to it all. Anger, rage, hatred; these are but a few."

"But I thought your emotions helped you, that you were suppose to use them. When I fought Ganon last year, and I felt all that anger, all that rage, I was like a new man and I was able to use that to defeat him."

"Yes, using your emotions is the way to go, but most give in to their emotions which puts your emotions, which are irrational by nature, in control of your actions; not you. To use your emotions to your advantage, to turn them into an unstoppable force, takes training. The Sheikah were the ones who understood this concept best. They kept their emotions in check, not allowing themselves to succumb to them. When the time was right, they knew exactly when and how to use their emotions in battle. That's what made them such a powerful force to contend with. So as long as you continue to give in to your emotions and refuse to see the world as it truly is, the true power of the Master Sword shall be denied to you."

Minerva blew out a sigh and then just stood there staring at Link with a serene expression, her dreamy eyes looking for any sign of impact her words might have had. She had said all she needed to say. The rest was now up to Link.

Link didn't make her wait long. He stood up straight and looking directly into Minerva's eyes he said in a strong, confident voice, "Will you train me then?"

Minerva giggled. "But of course. It is time for you to become the hero you were born to be, not only in name, but in reality as well. I must warn you though. The road you are about to take shall not be an easy one, and before long you may regret some of what you need to do. Time is not on our side, and I shall not go easy on you. Are you prepared to listen and obey everything I say and face any hardship that comes your way?"

"Yes, I am prepared."

"Good," Minerva smirked. "Then fight me."

"What?" Link asked, Minerva's brunt order catching him by surprise.

"You said you'd follow any order I gave, and I told you to fight me."

For the first time since appearing Minerva moved from her spot. She stepped out of the fountain and began walking down the steps toward Link in a sultry manner. Link stared at her as she walked, his eyes mesmerized by Minerva's curves and the sensual movements of her body. He began to grow hot and flustered, and as she was nearing the bottom of the steps he was beginning to back away.

"Uh . . . um . . .would . . . wouldn't you like to maybe put some more clothing on?" Link stammered as Minerva continued to advance.

"Why, is this form so unpleasing that you wish it covered up?" Minerva asked in a voice as sensual as her walk, her hands rubbing down the length of her body as she said this.

"N-n-n-no, that's not it. I just thought you might want some protection."

"Oh, I assure you that I am quite safe."

As Minerva closed the gap between them, Link noticed that her strands of hair were parting more and more as she walked exposing more of her breasts. Link immediately tilted his head slightly and glanced away, and in that instant, before Link could even blink, Minerva was directly behind him with the edge of a knife held up to his throat.

"Modesty is a weakness that adults learn," Minerva whispered into his ear. "A child knows better, for they are free from such thoughts. They don't allow it to cloud their judgement when they know they are in danger. You glanced away, leaving me an opening to strike. This is but one of the more simpler lessons that you must learn. You underestimated me and allowed my appearance to deceive you. It is a trick your enemies know well, and they will use it to their advantage. Now that you know how serious I am, the true training can begin."

* * *

Zelda awoke within the confines of a dungeon holding cell. The smooth, cold, black stone that made up her cell told Zelda that she was within the Black Tower. Her head was spinning slightly, and the dankness sent shivers throughout her body. She was still weak from using her spell, but she managed to push herself off the floor and stand up. Though physically exhausted, she was able to sense a thin barrier around her cell which would prevent any sort of escape through her magic. 

Unable to sense any weakness within the barrier, Zelda walked over to the bars of the cell. The first sight to greet her eyes was Impa being held in another cell directly across from her. She was slumped up against the far wall with her arms shackled. With the bloodied holes in both her hands and the way Impa's head was just drooped against her chest, at first Zelda believed her to be dead. She noticed, however, that Impa was breathing, albeit slowly and shallowly. Zelda was happy to see Impa, but at the same time saddened by the state she was in, especially since she had a very good idea of whom put her in that position.

Looking up and down the dark hallway now, she saw that the rest of the holding cells were filled with the Kokiri that had been captured. Most were pale and barely moving, all life seemingly having been sucked out of them. There were no wounds on their bodies that Zelda could see though.

"Zelda, is that you?" came a weak sounding voice to Zelda's right.

"Saria?" Zelda asked as she turned toward where the voice came from.

Saria was in the cell directly next to Impa's. She had been laying in the corner before which is why Zelda had not recognized her, but now she stood up weakly by the bars of her own cell looking straight at Zelda. Saria's hair was a mess, her clothes were tattered and ruined, and there were many day old wounds all over her body. She had apparently put up quite a struggle during Lord Arcana's invasion of the Kokiri Forest. There was a small smile on Saria's face as she looked at Zelda, but Zelda could see the hopelessness Saria was trying to hide behind her eyes.

"Heh, looks like things aren't going so great for us this time around," Saria said in a vain attempt at humor.

"Saria, are you okay?" Zelda asked. "Do you know what's going on here?"

"I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you may have my dear princess," came a dark and sinister voice that Zelda didn't recognize yet had a feeling she knew who it belonged to.

The sound of boots walking echoed through the dungeons as the large and intimidating form of Lord Arcana came into view. Saria's smile vanished and was replaced with a look of pure defiance. Zelda's expression mimicked Saria's as she laid eyes for the first time upon the man who had caused so much grief for Hyrule. Seeing his face and build left no doubt in Zelda's mind that this definitely was the father of Ganondorf.

"Lord Arcana I presume," Zelda said in disgust.

"My, my, such manners," Lord Arcana replied with a smirk. "Is that any way to speak to your host?"

"What are you planning Arcana? You've had ample opportunity to attack us, yet here you stay like a coward. Maybe you don't even have a plan; you're just trying to defeat us psychologically. You certainly don't have an army. We crushed it a year ago."

Lord Arcana simply laughed. "Such harsh words from such a delicate little flower."

"Release the barrier around my cell and I'll show you how delicate I am!"

"My dear, goading does not work on me. Despite what you may think, I do have a plan, and with every passing moment it grows closer to completion. If you look around you can already see my plan at work."

"The Kokiri?" she asked as she watched Lord Arcana indicate the other holding cells.

"Yes, the Kokiri. Didn't you know? The Kokiri are the lifeblood of Hyrule. They have a special affinity to the land. If one should die, then so does the other. Of course, this affinity can be manipulated in a variety of ways."

"Whatever you're planning you won't succeed," Saria stated. "The Kokiri will resist you, as will the rest of Hyrule."

Lord Arcana aimed his hand at Saria and fired an energy ball straight into her sending her flying to the back of her cell. Saria was knocked unconscious and fell to a heap on the ground. Zelda watched in horror as Lord Arcana did this, and at first feared that Saria had been killed, but she could sense the life still in her.

"This is a private conversation," Lord Arcana said calmly, smoke still rising from the palm of his hand. "No one asked for your two cents."

"You bastard!" Zelda shouted. "So then what is your almighty plan? You said you'd be more than happy to answer my questions, so answer me. What are you up to?"

Lord Arcana just looked at her and smiled. Then, with the snap of his fingers, a translucent, diamond shaped shield formed around Zelda. Zelda looked around curious, and then back at Lord Arcana, but before she could say anything he snapped his fingers again and Zelda vanished from the dungeon. She reappeared inside of Lord Arcana's throne room, still trapped within the shield. Lord Arcana himself appeared next to her shortly after.

"A throne room?" Zelda said condescendingly. "That's your big plan."

Lord Arcana's smile turned into a smirk following a short chuckle and he pointed up to the ceiling. Zelda followed his arm and looked upward. As soon as she did, her eyes grew wide and mouth fell open as all color drained from her face and all feeling in her legs vanished and she fell to her knees, her gaze still staring upward.

* * *

Link sat cross-legged in the center of the expansive chamber, right in the middle of the marble columns. His eyes were closed, back was as straight and as stiff as a board, arms were resting comfortably in his lap, and breathing was slow, deep, and steady. All of Link's gear and weapons had been removed and were lying near the fountain, the broken hilt and shards of the Master Sword having been specifically placed within the basin of the fountain itself. As Link sat there Minerva was circling him, her serene face staring intently upon Link as she walked. 

To Link, the outside world seemed to disappear. All noise slowly faded to nothingness. The running water of the fountain, the crackling flames of the torches, and even Minerva's soft footfalls, which he had been unable to hear in the first place until beginning this and truly listening to the sounds around him, all vanished as Link drew into himself. All thoughts ceased as he cleared his mind. He then focused on a single thought, and within his mind he pictured the chamber, and within the chamber stood himself.

"_Good,"_ Minerva's voice echoed within his mind as if she were speaking to him telepathically, and for all Link knew perhaps she was. _"You have the physical prowess and skill, but to conquer your emotions you must now train your mind. You have accomplished the first step and centered yourself. Now we can begin. We shall start with fear. What is it that you fear Link?"_

Link knew it wasn't a question he was supposed to answer outwardly. Instead, he focused within himself on what he feared most and the image of the chamber within his mind began to distort and change. Link was now floating in the sky, big billowing columns of black smoke rising up into the sky. Below him, Hyrule was aflame, hundreds of bodies scattered about, all dead. The scene abruptly changed, images of the bloodied and deceased bodies of Zelda, Malon, Navi, and all his other friends rushing past. The final scene was of Link himself. He was down on his knees, the large and imposing figure of Lord Arcana standing over him, laughing.

"_You fear failure, and letting down your friends and loved ones,"_ Minerva's voice echoed. _"You must let go of these fears. You will do what you must, and you will do it to the best of your ability. Whether you succeed or fail is irrelevant. Even should Hyrule fall, there shall always be those who will take up arms and resist. As for your friends, their fates are their own. What happens to them is not a result of what you do. They all know and fully accept the risks. Now face your fears Link. Do what needs to be done. Let go!"_

As Lord Arcana continued to laugh, a sword materialized within Link's hand. With determination in his eyes, he stood up and faced Lord Arcana on equal terms. Lord Arcana saw this and his own sword appeared. Both Link and Lord Arcana swung, and as their swords clashed the image returned to that of Link standing within the Queen Fairy's Fountain.

"_Excellent. As the chosen one of Farore, I had expected this emotion to be the easiest. Now, we shall move on to shame. What is it that you are ashamed of?"_

It didn't take long at all for the image in Link's mind to change. Zelda appeared before him, tears in her eyes, and Link instantly knew where this was from. It had happened a few days earlier, when Zelda had warned him about her premonition. But Link had been too full of himself and simply dismissed it, turning him into an uncaring fool. It hadn't been long after that Link suffered his humiliating defeat at Lord Arcana's hands.

"_Shame is something that happens to us all. We are not perfect beings. But we cannot let our shame get the best of us, to hinder us in our actions. We must move past what we are ashamed of. It is done, history. Leave it in the past where it belongs, and look toward the future."_

The image of the teary-eyed Zelda started to waver, and soon transformed itself into a beautiful sunset over Lake Hylia, one in which both Link and Zelda were watching while lying on the beach, the past forgotten. Once again the image then reverted itself to that of the Queen Fairy's Fountain.

"_You are progressing quite nicely, but harder trials yet await you. We move now to guilt. What is it that you blame yourself for?"_

The scene abruptly changed to the top of Death Mountain. Link looked down upon the grim scene as if he were floating above the area. He saw himself, and he saw Ganon holding him by the throat. He then watched as Gerik, the old Gerik, although a bloody and tattered mess limped up behind Ganon and drove his sword into him. Link then watched again in horror like on that night, like he had watched so many times in his nightmares, as Ganon thrust his own sword into Gerik, finishing him off. Link almost broke his concentration at this point and nearly cried out, but resisted with all the strength he could muster.

"_Gerik's loss was regrettable,"_ Minerva said solemnly. _"He was a truly skilled warrior and knew exactly what it took to accomplish what needed to be done. But his death is not your fault. He volunteered to distract Ganon while you headed to the Triforce. He knew full well the consequences of his actions, knew full well that he could die, and knew full well that he would die the moment he decided to save your life. Gerik made these decisions on his own, and there was nothing you could have done to prevent this from happening."_

"If I had been a stronger fighter I could've defeated Ganon and Gerik would still be alive," Link answered without breaking his concentration. "I was too weak, and as a result Gerik had to die so that I would live. And now Lord Arcana has capitalized by creating that monstrosity."

"_What happened to Gerik was not your fault, his death nor his turning. He made his own decisions. As great as he was, he was also a rash one, and how he had managed to survive up to that point was a miracle in and of itself. Everyone is responsible for their own actions. You were not the one who drove their sword into Gerik. That was Ganon. You must learn to forgive yourself. Would the Gerik you had known want you brooding over his death, blaming yourself? No, he would tell you to pick yourself up and teach Lord Arcana a lesson he won't soon forget."_

The image in Link's mind changed to just that. The bloody, mangled body of Gerik vanished, and was replaced by the Gerik he had met for the very first time out by Lake Hylia. His red eyes bore into him as he scowled down at Link. Gerik began to reproach Link, but at the same time igniting the fire within him. Link looked up to Gerik then, his face full of resolve, and Gerik just smiled before vanishing.

"_Good, good, let your guilt flow away as forgiveness flows in. But no time for rest; we still have a ways to go. The next emotion is grief. What is it that grieves you?"_

Everything went white, and then slowly various images of people started appearing around Link. There was the withered remains of the Great Deku Tree, the burnt cinders of the Deku Tree Sprout, the fallen form of Kaepora Gaebora, and even the remains of Mido and Ingo. Beyond them stretched hundreds of bodies, Hylian, Goron, Zora, and even Gerudo. The scene then changed and Link was now standing in the middle of the Kokiri Forest, the houses still smouldering and the small childlike bodies of many Kokiri scattered about the forest, all dead.

"_You grieve for friends long gone, many of whom were cut down before their time. The Kokiri, whom you treat as brothers and sisters, as family; their loss has been especially grievous on you. It is a natural response to feel sorrow at one's passing, but you must remember that they did not die in vain. They all fought and died with honor. They made their choices and accepted the risks. But remember, though their physical forms may be gone, they exist still. They exist in your memories, and there they shall never be forgotten. Their spirits have returned to the land that gave them life and are now a part of it for all eternity. They are with you always, and if you remember that there shall be no need for sorrow."_

The bodies all vanished, and then as if a fog were rolling in they all returned. The bodies were no longer bloody or mangled; they looked just as Link had remembered them all in life. They appeared around Link in an ethereal form, all of them with smiles upon their faces. He could feel their support and confidence flowing off of them and being transferred within himself. As this happened within Link's mind, a lone tear made it's way down his cheek, which Minerva saw and smiled at.

"_Very good. We now move on to the more powerful of your emotions, and the ones of which could lead to your success, or failure. The first is anger. Let your anger manifest itself before you."_

An image of Gerik appeared, but not the Gerik Link once called friend. It was the twisted monstrosity that Lord Arcana had turned him into, an evil, sadistic smirk plastered on his pale, unearthly complexion. Behind him stood Lord Arcana, his features so much like Ganon's, but at the same time different. He wore an arrogant smile as he began chuckling manically with his hand on Gerik's shoulder.

"_Anger is a powerful emotion, and the one that will help you the most in battle. Remember back to Death Mountain a year ago. It was your anger over Gerik's death that gave you the strength and determination to fight on. Without realizing, you used your anger to its potential. You let it flow through you, empowering you, but you were in control. The anger you must be wary of, is that which controls you, which takes over your actions. It is this kind of a state where you become sloppy, where mistakes happen, and your enemy can capitalize. That is why your enemy will always taunt you; to try and anger you to the point that become sloppy and no longer a threat. This is what happened to you atop the Black Tower. Your anger took over and you became sloppy. Anger can become your greatest ally, but it can also become your greatest hindrance. You must be wary, and never allow it to take control."_

Gerik and Lord Arcana still stood there, but now Link appeared before them. He stared them straight in the eyes, his sword held at the ready. His demeanor was one of calm, and both Gerik's and Lord Arcana's smiles vanished at once, their own demeanor's turning serious. Gerik and Lord Arcana then drew their own weapons, and refusing to allow himself to charge in at a blind rage, Link simply just stood his ground and motioned for them to come to him, at which they both took the bait and attacked.

"_Perfect. I was hoping you would get that one quickly. How to control your anger was one of the top priorities drummed into the Sheikah which in turn made them such fearsome warriors. But I'm getting of topic. We are nearly done, and you are performing admirably. We shall now move on to the most powerful of all negative emotions: hate. Who or what is it that fills you with complete and utter hatred?"_

The image in Link's mind instantly transformed into the large, towering form of Lord Arcana. As far as Link was concerned, he was the source of all the trouble he had gone through in his life. It was Lord Arcana who fathered the monster known as Ganon, it was Lord Arcana who launched an invasion of Hyrule a year ago that cost the lives of thousands of people, many of whom were friends of Link, and it was Lord Arcana who now was attacking Hyrule again and had turned Gerik into he didn't even know what anymore.

"_Hate is a very dangerous emotion to have, but it is not without its strengths. Hate can be a powerful motivator to make one forget their fears and do what needs to be done. But at the same time it can cloud ones judgement, make them blind to all else but their hatred. This is not an emotion to experience on a whim."_

"You can't honestly be telling me that Lord Arcana doesn't deserve my hatred," Link said, the image in his mind holding fast. "That monster is responsible for too many wrongs to be forgiven, or to even be viewed with anything less than hatred."

"_In this case, your hatred is justified. But be careful. If you listen carefully to your words, you can hear what I mean about becoming blinded to all else. While Lord Arcana deserves your hatred, there are others whom you could hate that don't deserve it. Take Zelda for instance. Though she had noble intentions, her actions led you on a dangerous quest which resulted in allowing Ganon to obtain the Triforce and cast Hyrule under a blanket of despair and darkness for seven long years during which many innocent people lost their lives. Yet you hate her not, nor does anyone else. Had she been anyone else though, could you honestly say you would have shown them the same forgiveness and understanding, or would they have earned your hatred as well? This is an emotion of last resort, when it is fully deserved, and all it can do is help you, not hinder."_

Unlike all his other visions, this one didn't change. Lord Arcana just continued to stand there. But Link knew he couldn't dwell on such things, no matter how much he hated the man and no matter how much he deserved that hatred. Link had more important things to concentrate on, like completing this training and getting the Master Sword repaired. He slowly pushed the image of Lord Arcana away and returned to the Queen Fairy's fountain.

"_You've passed,"_ Minerva said, almost happily. _"For a second, I'll admit, I feared you would not realize the meaning behind my words. There is but one step left, one emotion left to conquer, and it is also the most difficult."_

"I am ready," Link replied confidently.

"_You must learn how to surrender your earthly attachments. You must give up love."_


	14. Time to Strike Back

Link's eyes flew open, his concentration utterly shattered by Minerva's words. His body nearly fell over, his hands leaving his lap to quickly steady himself. Minerva was standing directly in front of him, looking down upon him with that calm, serene look of hers as if she had anticipated just this sort of reaction.

"What?!" Link shouted incredulously. "You can't be serious!"

"Oh, I assure you that I am quite serious," Minerva replied stoically despite Link's struggle to stand up from his shock being quite amusing. "Love is the most powerful of all emotions, both good and bad. It grants its wielder with limitless power and potential as well as making the impossible possible, but it is also the one that blinds us the most and the easiest. Because of this it has cost the lives of many, many innocent lives over the years, and it is only a matter of time before it results in the destruction of Hyrule itself."

"I don't care what you say," Link interrupted defiantly now that he was on his feet and staring hard into Minerva's eyes. "I love Zelda with all my heart, and I will never give her up. Zelda is everything to me."

"So you would allow Hyrule to fall and everyone to die just to be with her?" Minerva stated boldly and with a bit of reproachfulness.

"What?" Link asked confused.

"Your love for Zelda blinds you. You would risk life and limb to keep her safe, to make sure no harm ever comes to her, but in your zeal you would forsake all else. All thoughts would revolve around her, all actions. How far would you go, how much would you abandon just in her name alone?"

"What are you trying to say? Stop talking in riddles."

Minerva's stare grew a little harder, but if Link's words had angered her in any way she showed no other sign. "You are the Hero of Time, chosen by the Goddess Farore to carry the Triforce of Courage, wielder of the Legendary Master Sword. You are Hyrule's hero and savior, and as such you have a greater responsibility than any other person. The safety and survival of Hyrule must take precedence over anything else, including Princess Zelda."

"And why can't I protect Hyrule and still love Zelda at the same time? Why can't I protect them both?"

"Because what happens when you are forced to make a choice between the two? What happens if both Zelda and Hyrule are in danger at the same time, and you have time to only choose one? Which one would you forsake for the other?"

"I . . ." Link stuttered before falling into silence and lowering his head in thought. He had never considered that possibility before, and he honestly didn't know which he would choose.

"You hesitate and they are both lost," Minerva quickly said as soon as Link fell silent and looked down. "In such a situation you won't have time to stand there and think, and more often than not there won't be time to save them both. Your love for Zelda will make you choose her, or at the very least give you pause enough that both end up being lost. But it is Hyrule you must choose. You need to understand, saving Zelda would do neither of you good should Hyrule fall. With Hyrule gone and everyone dead, what purpose would you two surviving serve. On the other hand, by saving Hyrule you would condemn Zelda to death. There is no worse pain in this world than that of losing a loved one. That is why if you forsake your love for her now, you can save yourself that pain, save yourself from having to make that decision."

"But . . . but what if I can't do it?" Link said discouragingly as he looked back up at Minerva with grave eyes. "What if I'm not strong enough?"

"True strength is something that cannot be measured. We never know what we are truly capable of till we are in that situation ourselves. A time may come when such a scenario presents itself before you, but just as likely you may never find yourself in such a position. One never knows what the future may or may not hold, but a prepared mind will weather you through any storm."

"Then how will I know if I'm ready?"

"You won't, not unless the situation presents itself before you. If such a time comes, you must be ready to do what is right. Draw upon what you have learned here; draw upon all your other emotions. The decision rests solely within your own heart, and it it there where your decision must be made. No one else can decide for you; no one else can help you. If you truly must have love in your life, then you must also be ready to sacrifice that love should the need arise. If you feel, however, that you cannot, then you must forsake that love now, before a greater catastrophe arises. That is the best advice I can give."

Link closed his eyes and stood there silently deep in thought. Minerva could both see and sense the inner turmoil bubbling within him. She stared at him with sympathetic eyes, knowing the pain that Link was going through. This was the hardest of all emotions, but also the most important; the one that separated success and failure, survival and death.

"I cannot give up Zelda," Link said solemnly as he opened his eyes and stared at Minerva sorrowfully. "She is everything to me. I cannot promise that in such a situation I can do what must be done, but if such a situation arises, I will do my best to use what you have taught me and to make the right decision. But I will not forsake my love for Zelda on a scenario that may never happen in my lifetime."

"That is the best that one can hope for. What we say we'll do and what we actually do are many times, two completely separate things. But as long as you are willing to consider, to do your best to make the right decision, then is no more that can be asked. You have chosen not to give up on love. That is neither the correct nor the incorrect answer, for there is no correct answer. You must follow your heart, and be true to it, and as long as you are the answers you seek will come."

Minerva looked at Link and saw that his face had brightened a little by her words, but she could still sense the inner turmoil. Her words had struck a cord, as she had hoped. It got him thinking, which she had wanted to do. After all, it was true that such a scenario, such a decision, may never be presented to Link, but if it was he needed to be prepared, and he needed to understand that such a decision would have dire consequences either way. Minerva then turned toward her fountain, and as she did so Link followed her gaze.

"I have taught you all that you need," Minerva stated while still staring at the fountain. "You have the physical prowess, you have the skills, and now you have the information you need to keep your own heart in balance, to keep the darkness at bay, and to control your emotions rather then letting them control you. Go now, Link, and place your hand upon the Master Sword. If the Goddesses find you worthy once again to wield the Sword of Evil's Bane, the blade shall return to it's former glory."

Breathing out a sigh, Link began walking, hesitantly at first, toward the fountain. His steps grew more and more confident as he got closer, his resolve and determination growing as well. He could do this, would do this. The Master Sword would be repaired, and he would return with it to Hyrule. There was no longer any doubt in his mind as he ascended the steps and made his way over to the basin.

Peering down into the crystal clear water, Link could clearly see the broken hilt and shards of the Master Sword lying exactly where he had placed them. Not a thing had changed. Letting out a few deep breaths, Link reached down and stuck his hand into the water. It wasn't cold, but neither was it exactly warm either. He couldn't describe exactly how the water felt, but at that point he was concentrating more on the sword. Taking the final plunge, Link finally grabbed a hold of the hilt.

A bright, blinding light immediately engulfed the fountain. Link was forced to close his eyes and turn his head away, but he neither moved his body nor released the hilt. As he held on, he could feel the sense of familiarity of the sword, could once again feel the true power of the sword, the same kind of power he felt all those years ago when he had first taken a hold of the Master Sword as a little kid.

The blinding light soon dimmed, and then faded completely. When Link opened his eyes and looked down, there was the Master Sword, complete, within his hand. The silvery blade with its finely sharpened edge glistened beautifully, its royal blue hilt and guard completely unmarred and perfect. The sword looked just as it did the first time Link had laid eyes upon it.

Link swung the sword several times to get the feel of the blade back in his hands, and satisfied that the Master Sword was just as he remembered, he reached down to pick up the Master Sword's scabbard and sheathed it. He then hung it on his back and proceeded to equip all his gear on himself. When he was finished he turned toward Minerva, who he noticed had approached him while he was busy and was standing only a few feet away.

"Thank you," he said.

Minerva smiled. "You did all the work; I just led the way. But you must not dawdle. One step of your journey is complete, but another begins. I shall aid you one last time and teleport you to the ravine where you were forced to abandon Epona."

Link looked at her confused. "But if you have the power to teleport me from this place, why not just send me all the way back to the castle?"

"That is because you will find a company of men awaiting you at the ravine. Many things have transpired while you were away. Before you go I must warn you. While your time here may have seemed short, in your world three days have actually passed. Time does not exist within this cave."

"Heh, if I wasn't so pressed for time I'd actually be a little interested in that little fact. Well, I'm all set, so whenever you're ready. I promise to use what you have taught me, and I promise that Lord Arcana will not succeed. It's been . . . interesting. Goodbye, Minerva"

"Goodbye, Hero of Time. May the Goddesses watch over you and keep you safe."

Minerva leaned in and gave Link a kiss on the cheek. Link was shocked by this sudden move, but had neither the time to speak nor fully react for as soon as Minerva's lips left his flesh, Link instantly vanished. Minerva then turned toward her fountain and stared at her own reflection in the water, at the solemn features staring back up at her. Her bright smile was no longer present, a frown gracing her face for the first time.

"May the Goddesses watch over us all," Minerva spoke at her own reflection, the ends of her hair lightly brushing the water causing small ripples as she spoke. "I am truly sorry Link. The news you are about to learn will not be easy, but it was not my place to tell you. Neither was it my place to tell you the truth about your friend. These things you must find out on your own. I only pray that you hurry. Lord Arcana's plan is almost complete, and if he succeeds all shall be lost. My prayers are with you, Link."

* * *

Minerva's soft, warm lips against his cheek sent a shiver of electrifying pleasure through Link's body that surprised him, but before he could respond his vision grew blurry and the familiar feeling of being stretched and pulled that accompanied a teleportation spell took over. It lasted all but a few seconds, and when Link's vision cleared he saw that he was once again within the confines of the Northern Mountains, their drab stone walls surrounding him. The large, bottomless ravine stood right before him, and judging by how dark the already sunless sky was thanks to Lord Arcana's eclipsing spell still being in place, the sun was probably beginning to set.

The sounds of horses and of clattering armor drew Link's attention and he turned around to see a company of five Hylian knights gathered around a small fire, their horses tied to a makeshift fence they had erected. Minerva had apparently not been kidding when she said there were people waiting for him, but whether this boded ill or good Link had to wonder. His sudden appearance out of thin air had startled the knights, causing them all to clamber to their feet, but luckily Link noticed a familiar golden helm among the company of knights.

"Link," Captain Huntley asked cautiously, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword, "is that you?"

"Oh course it's me," Link responded slightly confused, his eyes noticing the position of Captain Huntley's, as well as the other four knights, hands. "Why wouldn't it be me? Minerva teleported me here to save time."

"Who's Minerva?"

"She's the Queen Fairy. It's a rather long story and now really isn't the time. What are you guys doing here anyway?"

"When Epona returned without you everyone started growing worried. When there was still no sign of you after three days, Malon sent us out after you."

"Wait, Malon? Why would she send you instead of Zelda?"

"Come on, we need to get you back to the castle right away?" Captain Huntley responded, completely ignoring Link's question and turning his head away as he spoke. "Many things have happened while you were away, and still Lord Arcana has not attacked. We're at a loss for what to do."

"Why didn't Zelda send you?" Link asked again, this time more forcefully and louder. The other knights now turned their heads away as well as Link's gaze fell upon each of them as well.

"The land itself is actually beginning to wither and die, as if there's a plague upon our land," Captain Huntley continued as if Link had not just interrupted. "Morale among the soldiers is almost nonexistent, what little hope they had left is quickly fading, and . . ."

"Captain!" Link shouted as he walked up to Captain Huntley, grabbed his face and forced him to look into his eyes. "Why . . . didn't . . . Zelda . . . send you? Answer me!"

Captain Huntley tried to turn his head away again, but Link held it firmly in place. Finally, closing his eyes he said, "Because she's been captured. Gerik disguised himself as you and lured her out into Hyrule Field. The two fought, but Gerik won, and before we could stop him he took her, most likely to Lord Arcana."

Captain Huntley watched almost in horror as Link's eyes grew extremely distant, his mouth hanging only slightly open. Link's hand fell limply away from Huntley's head as all strength and feeling seemed stolen away. He shuffled backwards a few steps, in an almost drunken stupor, and appeared several times as if he would fall over. Link didn't say a word as his head lowered slightly and turned to the side. Captain Huntley and the other knights just watched, a little fearfully, as Link then walked over to the side of the mountain in a kind of daze. He stopped only a foot away facing the mountain wall, his head still lowered so that his forehead was almost in contact with the wall.

"DAMN YOU!" Link shouted in a sudden rage as he slammed his fist hard into the side of the mountain, his voice echoing for miles around.

Link just stood there, his face full of fury, and his fist still pressed firmly up against the wall. Captain Huntley wouldn't have been surprised in the least if he had shattered every bone in his hand. He and the other knights didn't know what to do. There was no way to comfort somebody in this type of situation, and with the look of murder in his eyes they were afraid of him lashing out at them. But Captain Huntley noticed something different about Link. He wasn't lashing out. He had just that one outburst and now seemed to be controlling himself. Captain Huntley then noticed a little twinkle in Link's eye, as if he had just realized something, and then Link started to chuckle.

"That little she-devil knew," Link chuckled softly to himself, but the knights could hear him clearly and were starting to wonder about his sanity. "She knew Zelda had been taken and didn't even have the courtesy to tell me."

"Link?" Captain Huntley braved saying as he approached cautiously.

Link turned to face him as if just remembering that Captain Huntley and the others were standing there, and to Huntley's astonishment his features weren't filled with either rage or sorrow, but with a serious, almost grim, look. "Break camp and mount up," Link called to the knights. "It's time for us to return, and Lord Arcana's downfall to begin. Captain, I want you to tell me everything that's happened while I've been away."

* * *

With the sun fully set, and Lord Arcana's spell still firmly in place, Hyrule Castle's throne room was but a shadow of it's former brilliance. Even at such a late hour the room normally had an almost mystical aura about it, a bright friendly glow, but now the pitch black darkness crept its way down through the skylight and infiltrated every part of the room. Even the brightly glowing candelabras and other various sources of illumination could barely pierce the darkness to give more than a simple dim light. Where once the room provided a sense of sereness and happiness, it now held a sense of dread and foreboding.

A large round table had been moved into the center of the room. On it were various maps of Hyrule, detailing its regions and secrets. The table was also littered with dozens of candles to provide those gathered around it enough light to see the maps, and each other.

"I don't know what to do anymore," Malon said. "Link is still missing, and there's been no activity whatsoever from the Black Tower."

"Unfortunately, without knowing Lord Arcana's plans, it's impossible to formulate a cohesive strategy," replied Nabooru. "We don't even have an inkling as to what he's up to. You're doing a fine job of leading so far Malon. Don't berate yourself."

"But I'm just a farm girl. I don't know how to lead."

"You think any of us wanted the job?" replied Ruto. "Sure, we all knew that one day we would lead our respective peoples, but it's still something that we were thrown into."

"You all had training in how to lead though. The only decision I've made was to send Captain Huntley out after Link, and we still have no word from them. For all we know they're lost now as well. I can't even keep hope alive among the troops."

"If Link were here he wouldn't be doing anything differently," said Darunia. "He'll be fine, you'll see, and he'll be proud of how you've handled yourself so far."

"We haven't even made an attempt to rescue Zelda. We just let Gerik capture her and keep her without any retaliation."

"And that is the way it should be," piped in Rauru. "If Zelda is even still alive, she is being kept deep within the Black Tower. Only an all-out assault against the tower would have any chance of attempting a rescue, and without Link at its head with the Master Sword fully repaired it would be doomed to failure, or at the very least deplete our manpower so much that a second attack would end in a massacre. Until Link returns we can do nothing but remain on the defensive."

The throne room doors were thrown open at that moment, echoing throughout the room as the doors slammed into the walls. A figure walked into the room, but his footfalls were soft unlike the armored footsteps of the knights walking in behind him. The figure approached the table where they were all gathered, and they all looked on in shock as they recognized the green clothing he wore.

"Link?" shouted Malon in joy.

"Yes, it's me," he replied before anyone could speak, "and before anyone says anything I already know all about Zelda and everything else that has happened in my absence."

"I'm sorry brother," Darunia said.

"It's alright Darunia, for we're going to get her back and take down Lord Arcana once and for all. At daybreak we launch an attack against the Black Tower."

"Link, we know that you must be upset, but now is not the time for rash decisions," Rauru said. "We must think clearly. We all hope that Zelda is still alive as well, but . . ."

"I don't hope, I know. The fact that Gerik captured her rather than finishing her off right then and there is proof enough. Besides, they lured out Zelda by pretending that I was in danger, so now they hope to lure me out by putting her in danger, and the only way that will work is if I still believe she's alive. So Zelda will not be harmed until they have me."

"But what if it's a trap to lure us all away from the castle to attack the tower?" asked Malon. "Lord Arcana could simply have his army march in unopposed. We still have no idea what he's planning."

"That's why we're going to leave a large detachment of soldiers behind just in case. Come on everyone, don't you think this is all a bit odd. A year ago Lord Arcana launched a massive invasion of the kingdom, but this time he's holding up within that tower of his. He's planning something, and whatever it is he doesn't need to be on the offensive to execute it. The more time we waste here, the closer he gets to success."

"Your theory has merit," said Nabooru, "but what if this is all just a trick to make us believe that and walk straight into a trap."

"To tell you the truth, I don't really know. But Lord Arcana is more cunning and manipulative than any other enemy we've ever faced. He's probably hoping that we'll believe it's a trap to keep us here while he completes whatever it is he's up to. Now do we do this or not?"

Everyone gathered nodded their heads in agreement. It was time to take the fight to Lord Arcana, to make him pay for all his crimes, and everyone was raring to get a piece of him.

"Good," Link said happily before turning to Captain Huntley. "Captain, go inform the soldiers in Hyrule Market to get a good night's rest, for in the morning we strike."

"Right away sir," he responded before walking off.

"Alright, Ruto, is that portal between your domain and the Lost Woods still active?"

"We deactivated it when Lord Arcana showed up, but we can easily reactivate it again if need be."

"Good. Alright, here's the plan. Darunia, Nabooru, and I will lead the main army in a direct assault against the Black Tower. Ruto, you will meanwhile lead your troops through that portal and attack from behind. Hopefully, we'll be able to catch them in a trap. Be careful through Ruto. Lord Arcana most likely knows about the portal and he may suspect a trap, so be wary for traps yourself."

"Got it."

"What's the plan once the actual attack begins?" asked Darunia.

"The army will stay behind and take care of whatever resistance we happen to run into." Link responded. "All of us meanwhile, will infiltrate the tower itself. Once inside we'll separate. You guys will find out where Saria, the surviving Kokiri, and Zelda are being kept and rescue them. I meanwhile, will find Lord Arcana and take him down once and for all."

"What about Gerik though?" asked Malon.

"If he shows his face I'll . . ."

"Gerik is mine," came the voice of Navi from the corner where she had been hiding. "He has much to answer for, and I'll be the one to make him do it."

"Excuse me," said Rauru, "I don't mean to sound negative, but once you meet up with Lord Arcana, how do you expect to beat him?"

"With this of course," Link said with a wide grin as he unsheathed the Master Sword and slammed it into the table.


	15. So It Begins

The following day was rather dismal. Of course, every day since Lord Arcana had blacked out the sun had been dismal. Even though the sun was already high in the sky, it was nothing more than a black sphere with hints of light creeping out around its edges casting the sky into a dreary, grey hue. It was as bleak as any normal cloudy day, but the entire atmosphere just seemed more dreadful and deathly.

For the first time Link was able to see the effects from Lord Arcana's spell. Hyrule Field, once verdant and full of life, was now nothing more than a symbol of death and decay. The grass was brown and dry, crackling under his very feet. What flowers still remained were severely withered, barely even husks remaining. Even the trees were suffering, their leaves a sickly brown and the bark looking heavily dehydrated and brittle. Link knew that just a few days without sun couldn't have caused this much damage, meaning that there was some other magic at work here as well. It was almost as if the very land itself was dying, drained of all its life.

It was just one more reason that Lord Arcana had to be stopped. As if in agreement to his thoughts, Epona neighed and nudged his shoulder. Link allowed himself a small smile as he reached out and began to rub behind Epona's ear, which was currently the only accessible part of her mane. From her head to her hind, Epona was covered in battle armor. It was nothing fancy or elaborate, but it protected Epona's head, chest, neck, flank and hind just the same. Even though this was the first time Link would be riding Epona into battle with this armor, she had carried much heavier loads before in the past and Link was confident the armor wouldn't hinder her.

Epona wasn't the only one dressed for battle either. Link stood beside her wearing a thickly padded, long-sleeved white undershirt. On top of that rested a set of chain mail, and on top of that was the deep, forest green tunic emblazoned with the Hylian Royal Crest that Zelda had made for him. On his legs he wore a pair of thick, white pants, and on his feet were his old, trustworthy brown boots. The Master Sword and Mirror Shield were fastened securely to his back, while his bow and quiver of arrows hung from Epona's saddle, as did his green hat at the moment.

All around him the Hyrulian Army was busy making last minute preparations. Hundreds of Hylian and Gerudo warriors on horseback stood ready to begin the attack, as did hundreds of Gorons. Though not present, Link was sure that the Zoras were standing by as well, ready to launch their surprise attack from behind once the fight began. As Link peered at the assembled army, he saw Captain Huntley readying the Hylian knights, while Darunia and Nabooru did the same with their respective warriors. Navi, meanwhile, was off on her own.

Navi stood not too far away from where Link was, but at the same time seemed separate from the main group. Beside her stood her horse Chiron. Chiron was clad in the same full body armor as Epona and all the other horses of the army, but his was as black as the armor Navi wore, and considering Chiron was black to begin with it made the armor almost impossible to see, especially without a sun to reflect off it. The serious expression on her face scared even Link, and he almost felt sorry for anyone who would be getting on the wrong side of Navi's blade today.

"Come on Link," came Malon's voice from behind, "I don't understand why you won't let me come."

Link blew out an exasperated sigh as he turned around to face the red head. "I've already told you. In this battle archers are going to be useless unless they are on horseback, and unfortunately you're skills in that department are still lacking, especially since we are going into battle. Not only that, but you have no experience with any sort of melee weapon and you would be completely vulnerable out there. I don't want to see you hurt. You can better serve by remaining behind with the others. Should the battle not go well and we all fall, it will be up to you to defend Hyrule. I need a strong, capable leader that I can trust Hyrule's defense in."

"I still don't see how you'd think I'd be such a good leader," Malon replied disappointedly, "but I promise I won't let you down. Lord Arcana will not have Hyrule as long as I have anything to say about it."

Link just smiled. "I'll hold you to that. Long may you defend Hyrule, should the battle go ill."

With that said, Link turned back around and hopped up onto Epona's back. As he grabbed his hat and put it on his head, he saw that the army was nearly all assembled and ready. There would be no more delays. Now was the time, when the fate of Hyrule would be decided. Even though he had wished Malon the best of luck in defending Hyrule if they failed, deep down he knew that there would be no future for Hyrule if they failed here today. Whatever Lord Arcana was planning would come to fruition, and nothing would stop him then, no matter how hard Malon and the sizable chunk of the army they left behind with her resisted. He took one last look at Malon as he thought this and gave her one last smile before turning Epona around to face the assembled troops.

"Alright everyone, saddle up," Link called out. "Now is the hour, when we put our lives on the line, when we defend with every last drop of our blood and sweat our country and loved ones. Lord Arcana has messed with us for the last time. It is time for us to stop being on the defensive, and time to take the offensive. Today is the last day of Lord Arcana's life. By day's end, he shall fall, as shall his tower."

Link's speech was followed by a tumultuous cheer. As soon as he had finished speaking, he turned Epona around and began a slow trot straight toward the Black Tower, the rest of the army falling into step behind him. Riding on either side of him was Captain Huntley, Nabooru, Navi, and Darunia, who instead of riding a horse was curled up into a ball and rolling along the ground as were all the Goron warriors. As the entire host was now on the move, the slow trot soon turned into a short gallop, followed by a full gallop, large clouds of dust being kicked up in their wake.

The Hyrulian Army sped forward, soon reaching and passing Lon Lon Ranch, the hooves of the many horses against the ground thundering across the kingdom. Fifteen hundred strong, with another five hundred warriors expected to join them when the Zoras launched their attack and closed the pincer maneuver they had planned, Link wondered if it would be enough. After all, the size of the enemy force, if their even was one, was unknown. So far besides the twelve Darknuts the only enemies they faced were those nearly invincible skeletal warriors almost a week earlier, and if those creatures were summoned there was no doubt they were all riding to their death.

What was even worse was that if they did fail, there was only a thousand warriors left behind in Hyrule Market to resist Lord Arcana with. Even though the army had been revamped from the disaster a year ago, they had still suffered heavy losses, losses severe enough to still hinder the size of their army. The only bright point was that each person this time around was properly trained and not simply given a sword and told to fight.

Link didn't lead the host directly across Hyrule Field, but rather at an angle. He was going to enter the remains of the Lost Woods from the sides, so as to avoid the Kokiri Forest. Kokiri Forest now held horrible images for Link, and despite it once being his home could not bring himself to look upon it just yet. Also, he didn't want to defile any more sacred ground than had already been done with more bloodshed.

The blackened land and scorched tree stumps of the Lost Woods was fast approaching. It was all that remained of the once vibrant and living woods after the vicious onslaught from Lord Arcana's Wizzrobes a year prior leaving the land a barren and infertile wasteland. Without the Great Deku Tree the land remained in its desolate state, and though the Kokiri were beginning attempts to try and reverse the damage done, they were meeting with little success before being attacked by Lord Arcana.

The Black Tower loomed ever closer in the distance, rising high up toward the heavens. It was a dominant, foreboding sight indeed, and Link could sense the apprehension among his troops, the belief that they were all about to die. Still, each one knew their duty and would defend Hyrule with every fiber of their being. The glossy black wall which surrounded the tower was fast coming into view. It was at least twenty foot high with large spikes lining it's top like a row of razor sharp teeth. What was worse was that it looked completely solid, with no way in or out.

The ground thundered beneath the host's advance, but Link soon came to realize that something was amiss. The earth was rumbling way more than it should have been. Before Link could call a halt to their advance however, he saw the reason why. All before them the ground was literally trembling, the very earth being dug up as thousands upon thousands of skeletal warriors emerged as if rising from graves. Link swallowed hard at the sheer sight of such numbers, but inwardly rejoiced that these weren't the same skeletal warriors as before.

The vast majority were Stalfos. Standing at roughly six and a half feet tall with glowing red eyes, oversized metal pauldrons upon their shoulders, and tattered rags of clothing hanging from their flesh-less bones, they were certainly an intimidating sight to behold, even without the large, round bucklers and long, rusted swords in their hands. The remainder of their numbers were made up of Stalchildren. They were pure skeletons, nothing special about them save for their glowing red eyes and razor sharp claws that could cleave through flesh as easily as any sword. The Stalchildren were in a variety of sizes ranging from as small as a child, as tall as any of the Stalfos, and almost twice as tall as the Stalfos.

Link watched as the enemy horde assembled itself. The Stalfos quickly took up battle positions while the Stalchildren sprinkled themselves throughout the field. The largest of the Stalchildren took up rear guard positions while the childlike versions, which were the more numerous, took up forward positions to assist the Stalfos. Even though thousands of them had already emerged and were standing ready with hundreds more still rising from the earth, the Hyrulian Army sped onward yet, whatever fear in their hearts being overridden by their duty.

"Charge!" Link shouted in an effort to drive away any remaining fears and doubts among the host. "Drive these foul beasts back to the abyss."

As Link said this he whipped the Master Sword around and cleaved the skull of a Stalfos right off it's body which then collapsed into nothing more than a pile of bones. The rest of the army followed suit, plowing straight into the enemy lines. They hit the forward positions hard and fast, covering all flanks, and ripped right through them while suffering only minimal casualties. It wasn't till they reached the center of Lord Arcana's forces that their progress was slowed and the true fighting actually began.

The Gorons had the easiest time of it, rolling directly into the Stalfos and Stalchildren and crushing their bones. With their rock hard bodies, they were impervious to both the swords and claws of their enemies. The limits of their success were soon apparent, however, as the Gorons came up to the giant Stalchildren. It was against them that the Gorons finally met their match.

The giant Stalchildren were a lot stronger than their smaller cousins and the Stalfos, and their bones much sturdier as well making it impossible for the Gorons to destroy them simply by running into them. The most the Gorons could do was make them stumble, maybe even fall if they hit them at full speed. With their increased strength the giant Stalfos were actually able to harm the Gorons, their claws gouging out deep wounds in their bodies. They still weren't strong enough to kill the Gorons with one blow, but in many cases was effective in removing the Goron from combat. Not only that, but the giant Stalchildren were able to halt the advancing Gorons dead in their tracks and even lift them up, which they used with deadly accuracy as they then tossed the curled up Gorons like boulders into their own allies.

The Hylians and Gerudo weren't having much better luck. Sure the Stalfos may have been nothing more than skeletons, but they still fought like fully trained warriors. The Stalfos did have a weakness in that they're bodies were more brittle than their enemies and less sturdy, a good hard blow able to reduce them to piles of bones, but their sheer numbers more than made up for that weakness.

The remaining Stalchildren, meanwhile, were using their claws to great effect. Those the size of the Stalfos were rather effective fighters, their claws proving in more than one instance far better than a sword. While useful on offense, their claws were far from being an effective defense though, and with no shield like the Stalfos the Stalchildren were easily cut down. The child-sized Stalchildren, meanwhile, were targeting the horses. Their small size made them easily able to dodge those still on horseback, but their claws made short work of the legs of the horses still carrying riders, sending both horse and rider plummeting to the ground where many were killed before recovering.

Even though the Stalfos and Stalchildren were far from immortal, no matter how many were slain it seemed another five took it's place. There was just no end to them, and it was beginning to take its toll on the Hyrulian Army. More than half had already been knocked off their horses, many of the horses having been felled, and were now fighting on foot. While casualties were still relatively minor, they were slowly beginning to mount and the number of enemies seemed to be growing rather than shrinking. Quite a few of the Gorons had even been taken out of the combat, a couple of them even having been slain.

"Damn, we're getting nowhere!" shouted Captain Huntley as he knocked a Stalchild's head off with his shield and severed the spine at the waist of an attacking Stalfos. "Where the hell are Ruto and the Zoras?"

No sooner did Captain Huntley shout this than the a large portion of the Stalfos and Stalchildren's rear guard vanished, their bodies crumbling to the ground as the Zora reinforcements finally arrived. They quickly plowed through, carving down Stalfos and Stalchildren alike before they could even realize they were being attacked from behind. A great cheer erupted from the Hyrulian Army as the tide of the battle quickly turned in their favor and they fought with renewed vigor.

Little did any of them realize, however, that the ground behind them was being up ended, and rising out of it were skeletal hounds. As big as a Wolfos, they were as devoid of flesh as any of the other skeletons save for a small length of fur along their spine. With the same glowing red eyes as their human counterparts, the Stalhounds let out a bloodcurdling howl and charged straight into the battle.

With lightening fast reflexes, they quickly and easily made their presence known, leaping upon warrior after warrior, their skeletal jaws clamping down and easily tearing flesh from bone while their claws made short work of anyone trying to escape. Only the Gorons were impervious to the Stalhounds attacks, but were to slow to fully challenge the Stalhounds who deftly dodged the Gorons attacks.

All battle lines were now gone. Hylian, Goron, Gerudo, Zora, Stalfos, Stalchildren, and Stalhound were now so intermixed that from a distance it was impossible to tell who was who. All strategies were now out the window as this became nothing more than a fight for survival. With the addition of the Stalhounds, Lord Arcana's forces had once again taken the advantage that the Hyrulian army had enjoyed for but a brief second with the arrival of the Zoras.

"This isn't working," Link called to the others as he slashed at a leaping Stalhound and Epona trampled a Stalchild. "We can't hope to take the field. There's just too many of them."

"What do you propose then?" Navi asked firing several fireballs into crowds of Stalfos instantly incinerating them.

"We have to storm the tower. If we can take out Arcana then it'll be all over."

"We can't hope to storm the tower with the entire army," Darunia commented as he wrestled with a giant Stalchild, his immense strength winning in the end as he flipped the Stalchild over his head and breaking it upon the ground.

"No, but a small group of us can," added Captain Huntley as he rode past on his horse, killing a Stalfos that was about to attack Ruto from behind. "The rest of the army can remain here and continue the battle. It's the only choice we've got."

Link hung his head, but relented nonetheless. "Alright, Navi, Darunia, Ruto, Nabooru, you guys with me," Link called out. "Everyone else hold them off for as long as you can."

With a helping hand Link lifted Ruto up onto Epona and then sped off toward the Black Tower. Navi, Darunia, and Nabooru followed right after him, cutting a path through the enemy forces as they went along. It wasn't until they were finally cleared of the fighting that Link realized they were one member extra.

"Captain Huntley, I told you to stay behind," Link said. "The troops need at least one leader to keep them organized."

"What organization?" asked Captain Huntley. "There aren't even any lines anymore. Look, I'm just going to escort you to the tower. Once you're inside I'll return to the battle."

"Fine. Now everyone else, remember the plan. Once inside, Navi and I will seek out Lord Arcana and Gerik. The rest of you locate the dungeons and rescue all he has imprisoned there and then get out. Return to the battle and help them."

They all nodded their understanding and sped onward. As the wall of the Black Tower grew bigger and the sounds of the battle began to grow distant, albeit slightly, Link took one last look back toward the battle. He felt guilty and ashamed. He had left them all in a battle they could not win, against an army that seemed to have no end, as nothing more than a distraction. In effect, he had left them all to their death while he simply rode away. But he reminded himself that if he could defeat Lord Arcana, then this would all end. Minerva's words, her teachings, began coming back to Link, and his guilt and shame started to ebb. Link was doing his part, and so were they.

They reached the wall in no time at all, keeping their horses several feet back just in case there were any more surprises. The wall appeared to be even taller than they had thought, and it was definitely solid throughout. Not even the tiniest of seams could be seen in the smooth, glossy surface. Without traveling too far they looked around it's circumference, but the wall remained the same throughout. Not even the smallest of entrances could be seen.

"So now what?" asked Captain Huntley. "There's no way in from what I can see and it'd be impossible to try and scale this thing."

"Looks like we'll just have to make our own way in then," Navi replied calmly yet sternly. "Darunia, Ruto, Nabooru, concentrate all your power on me. Got it?"

The three of them nodded and then took up positions around Navi in a triangular formation. Link and Captain Huntley moved back and watched as Darunia, Ruto, and Nabooru closed their eyes and then with outstretched hands shot a beam of pure energy straight at Navi's body. Instead of colliding with her, the red, blue, and orange beams coalesced around Navi, at least until Navi cupped her hands together and summoned the energy into the palms of her hands where it transformed into a ball of silvery-blue energy. Navi then fired the silvery-blue ball straight at the wall. It exploded on contact, covering the entire area in dust as bits and chunks of the wall were blown even as far back as the battle. When the smoke finally cleared, a good sized portion of the wall had been blown away.

"Great job Navi," Link commented. "Alright, let's move in."

Being unable to traverse the pile of rubble left behind, Link, Navi, Captain Huntley, and Nabooru all got off their horses and proceed on foot. They climbed through the opening Navi had created and entered the courtyard, if it could even be called such. There was no vegetation to be seen at all, living or dead. The ground was littered with small tiny pebbles, and it extended all the way from the wall to the tower itself. As they looked at the tower, they were greeted by its entrance, which wasn't even sealed. It was simply an open alcove that led within the tower. Unfortunately, that wasn't all that they saw.

Standing before the Black Tower's entrance, clad in their heavy black armor, were Lord Arcana's twelve Darknut warriors. They were all that apparently remained of his former army, or at least all that Lord Arcana wished to have by his side. With sword and broad shield in hand, they stood there waiting expectantly.

"Well this is certainly a bummer," chimed in Ruto. "Guess we shouldn't be too surprised though."

"Looks like nothing left to do but fight these jerks off if we want access to that tower," added Nabooru. "Looks like two of them for each of us. Sounds good to me."

Nabooru smirked as she made that last comment. Darunia couldn't help but grin himself and even Link had to suppress a small chuckle. Ruto was evidently nervous, but at the same time steadfast and ready to do her part. Captain Huntley stood there, his sword and shield raised, just waiting for the go ahead. Navi was the only one Link couldn't read at the moment, and he hadn't been ever since returning. She simply stood there, sword held at the ready, her serious expressionless face reminiscent of Impa. Link could only imagine the full account of what happened while he was away.

Link turned his head left and right, looking and nodding to each of his companions in turn. "For Hyrule," Link muttered softly, though the others heard and agreed. "Attack!"

The six of them took off at a full sprint, weapons raised and ready to strike. The Darknuts simply stood their ground, their shields braced for impact and swords held ready to counter any attack thrown their way. Link was the one with the biggest disadvantage out of everyone. Though he wielded the Master Sword and Mirror Shield, he was the only one present that had never fought a Darknut before, and so he couldn't comprehend exactly how tough or skilled the Darknuts even were.

As swords were about to clash, Nabooru unleashed a bright flash in an effort to blind the Darknuts for some easy first hits, but proved to be rather uneffective as the Darknuts blocked every attack with ease. With the fight having formally commenced, the Darknuts now broke their ranks and fought back, two per warrior.

Darunia already managed to put several large dents in one of the Darknut's shields, forcing him to abandon it. This was more of a disadvantage as now the Darknut had both hands to wield his sword with even deadlier accuracy, and Darknuts were already able to pierce Goron skin with just one hand. Unlike with other enemies, Darunia couldn't block the Darknut's attacks with his arms, not without suffering serious injury, thus he was forced to dodge but his bulky body wasn't exactly the greatest counter to the fierce speed of the Darknut. Luckily Darunia was able to call upon his Sage powers to help him.

The others weren't fairing much better. Ruto was barely able to land any blows at all, but her agility and nimbleness was plenty enough to help her dodge both Darknuts attacking her. Nabooru was caught in the middle. Wielding dual scimitars, she alternated between offensive and defensive attacks, but she was having no better luck landing a blow upon her Darknut adversaries than they were landing a blow upon her. Captain Huntley had since discarded his shield. He knew from his previous encounter with them that blocking an attack from a Darknut with a shield could easily result in a broken arm, so he opted to simply discard it for more speed and nimbleness.

Navi was attacking with a fierceness never before seen, sending blow after blow against her opponent. The Darknut was forced strictly to defense, Navi not even allowing the smallest of openings for him to try and strike back. Another Darknut tried attacking from behind, but Navi was aware of him and using her magic she collapsed the ground underneath him. The Darknut fell straight down, only his head and upper torso remaining above ground with his arms pinned at his sides. Navi then sent a burst of energy from her palm into the chest of the Darknut before her causing him to stagger backwards several steps. In that moment Navi twirled around, the blade of her sword becoming engulfed in flame, and decapitated the Darknut trapped behind her cleanly as if she had been cutting through bread. Her attention then returned to the other Darknut.

Link had never faced an enemy like this before, at least not soldier wise. This was the most challenging battle he had ever fought in save for those encounters with Ganon and Lord Arcana. The Darknuts were heavily armed and armored, yet it had no detrimental effect on their speed or nimbleness from what Link could see. They blocked just as often as they dodged, and when they delivered a blow Link felt as if his arm would break when blocking with the Master Sword. His mind drifted back to when Gerik had first faced these enemies, and the trouble he had faced. It was a Darknut that broke one of Gerik's swords, and he had needed the Megaton Hammer to crack their armor. While he may not have had the hammer, he did have the Master Sword, and was sure it would be more than enough.

Link dodged an overhand chop designed to take his head off and made a cross-body slash of his own. The Darknut blocked with his shield, only to have it become cleaved in half upon touching the Master Sword. Link smiled as he narrowly dodged a thrust and did a backhand spin, the edge of his sword cutting a gash in his adversaries chest plate. The Darknut staggered backwards and brought his free hand up to the gash, where a small trickle of blood was now leaking out.

The Darknut appeared to be surprised, but otherwise unfazed. He just looked back up to Link, readied his sword and motioned for Link to attack. Link realized the trap and quickly ducked and rolled forward just as another Darknut took a swing at him from behind. Link then came up under the first Darknut's defenses, and before he could react Link plunged the Master Sword deep into his chest. The Darknut fell to the ground dead as Link stood up over his body.

The second Darknut didn't give Link time to breath though as he quickly came around for another flurry of attacks. Link had forgotten about him and was forced to dodge before he could pull the Master Sword back out of the first. Sword less, Link now braced the Mirror Shield with both his hands as he blocked heavy blow after heavy blow, each hit taking a heavy toll upon Link's arms. Had it been any other shield, Link was sure it would've cracked in half by now. Link's arms were beginning to give out, and he could only back up so far before he became trapped against the tower, or another Darknut tried to attack him from behind.

With another hit Link's arms buckled and the Mirror Shield went flying from his hands. With no defenses left and nowhere to run, Link could only watch as the Darknut quickly capitalized and readied his sword for the killing blow. Just as his sword was about to connect, a large dark blur came flying through the air and collided with the Darknut. When Link looked he saw two dazed Darknuts on top of each other both struggling to get up off the ground. Link turned and saw Darunia off to the side breathing heavily. When he saw Link looking, he gave a weak smile and a thumbs up before having to dodge a blow by the second Darknut attacking him.

Link turned back to the two Darknuts who were now almost back on their feet. With a calm air he deftly retrieved the Master Sword and with two quick twirls of the blade slew both the Darknuts before they could respond. With the Darknuts dead, Link picked up the Mirror Shield and quickly surveyed the field. Four of the Darknuts were dead, but those that weren't were pushing everyone to their limits. Picking his next target, Link started to charge before a voice cut him off.

"Get going Link," Ruto shouted while dodging a diagonal slash across her midriff. "The way to the tower is clear."

"But what about you guys?" he questioned concernedly. "I can't just leave you guys to battle them on your own."

"You've already taken care of your two," Darunia responded as he heaved a chunk of the wall at his attacker. "Besides, this isn't your fight. Your fight is with Arcana. Now get going. We can handle ourselves. Navi, you get going as well."

Hearing her name, Navi turned toward Darunia and seeing the look in his eyes understood what he wanted. She deflected a sword strike and then immediately drop kicked the Darknut knocking him flat on his back. Grabbing hold of one of the wall chunks, Navi used her magic and in the blink of an eye the chunk exploded leaving behind a perfect, solid, and pointed spear in her hand. Spinning it above her head, Navi drove it down with full force directly into the downed Darknut's heart, impaling him to the ground.

Without pausing Navi walked right on past and over to Link. Looking at each other, they both nodded and then turned toward the entrance to the Black Tower. Weapons held at the ready, they both ran for it, Navi entering first while Link paused and stopped. He turned back to look at the others still fighting the Darknuts and felt the same regret he did leaving the fight with the Stalfos. Catching sight of Nabooru, he saw her mouth the word "GO" before turning her attention back to the battle. Knowing that they could take care of themselves, and that his battle lay ahead with Lord Arcana, Link turned back to the tower and stepped inside.


	16. Duel of Destiny pt1

Link stared ahead down the long, narrow, arched corridor before him. Navi was already at the other end, stepping into the bright light of the room beyond. Even had she waited it wouldn't have mattered much. The tightness of the walls left very little extra room, meaning they would have had to walk single file. In fact, as Link looked around him he figured that a fully armored Darknut would just barely be able to squeeze through.

As Link slowly began to advance he noticed that the narrowness of the corridor made it a perfect bottleneck. It was the perfect defense. An invading army would be forced to enter the tower single file and enter the room beyond, which Link surmised was quite spacious, where the defending army would be ready and waiting to easily pick them off one by one. The bottleneck was, however, a double-edged sword. If the defending army had to leave the tower they would run into the same problem if the enemy were waiting right outside to strike. Still, Navi had passed into the next room without any sounds of battle echoing back to him, so the coast must have been clear.

It was hard for Link to see that for himself. The narrowness of the corridor didn't allow much light from the next room to enter, leaving Link able to see only a bright light at the end of it. Only torches placed along the walls allowed Link to see his surroundings, and even then their light bounced dully off the smooth, glossy, black walls.

Two niches, one on either side of the corridor, caught Link's attention up ahead. They were large enough for a person to hide in, and the perfect place to lie in wait to attack someone. Readying his sword and shield, Link approached the niches cautiously. There was a cool, almost dank, breeze wafting from the niches signaling that they were actually passageways, but that didn't mean they were any less dangerous. Link pressed himself tightly up against the wall and began to slink ever closer, peering into first one, then the other to make sure the coast was clear.

The niches weren't actually passageways, but rather stairwells, both of which led down deep underground in a spiral like pattern. Link had little doubt in his mind that both led down to the dungeons of the Black Tower. At the bottom of those stairs were the surviving Kokiri, Saria, and possibly even Zelda. Link had to resist the urge to go down though. Lord Arcana was his main concern at the moment. He didn't have time to waste. There would be time to rescue them later, not to mention Darunia and the others would be rescuing them once they finished with the Darknuts outside.

With Minerva's words of keeping his mind and heart on the mission at hand to bolster his resolve, Link turned from the stairwells and continued on toward the next room. As he crossed the threshold Link shielded his eyes against the bright light of the next room, but once inside he lowered his arm and was able to see quite easily. The room was indeed quite spacious as Link had guessed. In fact, it was downright cavernous. The room had to have taken up three-fourths of the tower's diameter, and it's ceiling was at least fifty feet above Link's head.

Despite its size, the room was far from elaborate. Actually, it was rather quite simple. The walls, floor, and even the ceiling were all the same black stone of the tower. It looked almost as if the room had simply been carved out. No decorations adorned the room at all save for the extensive number of candelabras along the walls that provided light. Only a few alcoves along the walls which led to the myriad of passageways of the tower offered any change to the monotony of it all.

Link was a little surprised at the simplicity of it all and the straightforwardness of the Black Tower. He was expecting something a little more from someone of Lord Arcana's caliber, but perhaps all his dealings with Ganondorf had made him expectant of such things. Still, since this tower was designed for a period of war, Link had to wonder whether Lord Arcana would remain in something so simple or move into much grander accommodations if he were to win.

"Hey Link," Navi called out to him, "over there!"

Link looked over toward Navi, who was standing in the middle of the room. From the looks of it she and him were the only ones in the room. Navi was pointing over toward the far wall, where Link could see a stairwell along the wall gently sloping up to the ceiling and beyond. Link nodded and sprinted over to the stairs as did Navi. Once there they both began to climb, Link taking the lead with Navi only a few steps behind.

When they were about halfway up the wall, there came the low whooshing sound of an object flying through the air. With no time to react, a staff slammed into the wall right behind Link and right in front of Navi, jamming itself into the wall. Navi paused in her walk and stared at the staff while Link turned around to see what had just happened, and as both their eyes fell upon the staff they instantly recognized it. Link and Navi both then turned their attention over the side of the stairs and down into the room where Gerik stood in its center, a malicious grin on his face.

"Well, well, well," Gerik said in a mocking tone, "Link and Navi off on another adventure just like the good old days."

"You bastard!" shouted Link as he whipped out his bow and aimed an arrow at Gerik faster than he had ever done in his life.

"Ah, so I take it you know what happened between me and Zelda. She put up a good fight, but in the end she just wasn't up to snuff."

"You're a dead man you traitorous dog."

"And who's going to kill me? You? Cause I seem to remember you never having been able to defeat me."

Link's face was as stone. His fingers were just about to release the shaft of his arrow when Navi reached over and grabbed his bow, pushing it down and stopping Link from shooting. Link's head snapped in her direction, a mixture of shock and fury on his face. Navi just stared straight back, her own face serious, but with a certain gentleness as well.

"It's a trick," she said. "He's just goading you, trying to buy more time. Lord Arcana's your target. You need stop him before it's too late. Just forget about Gerik."

"But?" Link protested.

"You're the only one who can defeat Arcana. It has to be you. Now go. I'll take care of Gerik."

As soon as those words left her mouth, a semi-translucent bubble like shield formed between the two of them. The shield effectively cut Link off from Navi and covered the railings as well. Link pressed his hands against it, but it was as solid as stone. Looking back up at Navi, she simply just stared back at him silently before taking hold of the railing and leaping back down to the room below. She landed deftly on her feet and then slowly proceeded to walk in Gerik's direction. Link, with no other recourse due to Navi's force field, turned and continued climbing up into the Black Tower's heights.

"Aw, little Navi has come out to play," Gerik said in his mocking tone as Navi approached. "Very bold of you girl, but we all know you can't defeat me. Even if given the chance, you could never bring yourself to kill your lover. We're going to win, you already know this. Join Lord Arcana and me Navi, and in victory we can be together once more."

The cheesy grin plastered on Gerik's face vanished instantly as Navi's reply came in the form of a fireball streaming toward him at full speed. Gerik sidestepped it easily enough, the heat radiating off the attack enough to make Gerik's face glow as it flew past, and he watched as it sped past slamming into the wall behind him before turning back to look at Navi, smoke still rising her hand.

"You're an abomination, a disgrace to the real Gerik's memory," Navi spat, her voice seething with venom. "I _will_ destroy you and the lies you represent. You may look like the man I once loved, but that is where the similarities end, as shall you."

"Guess you'll just have to learn the truth the hard way, as Zelda had to," Gerik replied, his tone turning more serious, as he reached over unsheathing his sword and assuming a battle stance. "Now let's see how powerful you truly are, Guardian."

Navi drew her blade and charged forward as Gerik readied his sword and lunged forth as well. Their blades soon clashed, sparks shooting forth from the force of the impact, and locked as did their gazes, Navi's eyes full of hatred and loathing while Gerik's eyes were full of smugness and contempt. It was now a contest of strength as each one pushed with all their might against their blade trying to push the other back, but it was a stalemate. Their swords were firmly locked and feet firmly planted upon the ground.

Navi soon noticed Gerik reach behind him with his free hand and promptly broke off the engagement, pushing both swords off to the side, and jumped back out of striking distance. It wasn't far enough for a ranged attack, however, and as Navi landed on her feet she saw Gerik fling his hand out from behind him. Without hesitation she put up a shield around her and watched as the surface of the shield rippled from several impacts. Looking down Navi saw a small pile of long, thin needles with the smallest traces of liquid on the tips of them lying at the base of the shield.

Looking back up, she saw that Gerik had vanished. Navi quickly scanned the area all around her searching for him, but there was no sign. Noticing the shadow beneath her suddenly growing larger, Navi looked up and saw Gerik flying down at her with his sword ready to cleave her skull in two. Navi was forced to roll out of the way, Gerik simply pulling back his attack and landing nimbly on his feet. As Navi came out of her roll she quickly fired two fireballs at Gerik in quick succession, but Gerik deftly sidestepped one and flipped over the second, tossing a dagger at Navi as he came out of the flip. Navi saw the dagger and deflected it with her blade before getting back on her feet and charging Gerik.

* * *

Link ran up the winding staircase, climbing ever higher into the tower's heights. Behind him he could still vaguely hear the dwindling sounds of Gerik and Navi battling as he rose higher and higher. Lord Arcana was his target. He was the one behind everything, and the one who captured Zelda. Link kept that as his focus, using it to push himself onward.

Link kept the Master Sword and Mirror Shield held at the ready at all times, despite the lack of any enemies or traps. Still, he kept an eye out just the same. As he climbed, Link couldn't held but notice the irony of the situation. He had found himself in just this same predicament in the alternate time line, and the fact that he was climbing up into the enemy's tower brought back so many memories. Link actually half expected to find Lord Arcana playing a giant pipe organ when he finally ran into him.

The sounds down below had all but ceased now, the only sounds remaining those of Link's boots upon the stone staircase. He didn't know how high he had climbed by now, but knew he had to be approaching at least the halfway point where he hoped he'd find Lord Arcana. It wasn't long before the stairs began to grow less steep finally ending at a large arch which led to a small hallway that at the end appeared to open into a room much the same size as the one Navi and Gerik were currently fighting in.

As Link stepped off the stairs and into the hallway he held his sword and shield much closer to his body for a much more defensive stance. He treaded down the hallway slowly and lightly, his footsteps barely making a sound. As he continued on, Link could see what looked like a rather large, stone throne resting in the middle of the room, and if this were the throne room then Link was positive Lord Arcana would be here. He definitely hoped it as he had no desire to climb all the way to the roof and engage Lord Arcana up there as he had several nights back.

"Come on in," came Lord Arcana's deep voice, echoing throughout the room, as Link neared the end of the hallway and began almost tiptoeing to try and get a good look into the room without being seen. "We've been expecting you."

Knowing there was no point in trying to hide, Link simply walked into the room. Despite Lord Arcana being evil, Link knew he was an honorable man and wouldn't ambush him or try some other underhanded trick and so he walked into the room with his sword and shield held loosely down by his sides. After all, there was no need to exert any extra energy keeping his guard up when there was no point in doing so. Link knew he would need all the energy he could muster against Lord Arcana.

Lord Arcana's second statement caught Link's attention and he immediately peered at Lord Arcana. His eyes didn't rest long on the man as Lord Arcana waved his arm open as he said his comment and Link's eyes followed where it pointed over at the far wall. Hanging there like some ornament was Zelda, her arms and legs chained to the wall with magical, glowing bindings. Her hair was a disheveled mess, and she was still wearing her battle outfit from her fight with Gerik, the fierceness of their fight quite to apparent to Link from how tattered and damaged the outfit was. Zelda's head had been lowered when Link first entered the room, but at Lord Arcana's words she looked up.

"Link," Zelda said slightly louder than a whisper as if she were staring at a mirage, but luckily the expanse of the room allowed her voice to carry over.

"Zelda!" Link cried out, but held back and kept his restraint. Lord Arcana was too powerful and Link couldn't afford to give him even the slightest upper hand.

"You really are quite the fool, aren't you?" Lord Arcana mused, turning Link's attention back toward him. "But then again, Gerik did call all three of your weaknesses. Zelda has already been taken care of, Gerik himself will soon dispose of the Guardian, and I get to face you once again. I may have spared your life last time, but this time you won't be so lucky. I don't even know why you bothered to return anyway. You can't defeat me without the Master Sword, not so long as I have Dragonflame."

"You mean this," Link said smugly, holding the Master Sword in front of him allowing Lord Arcana a good view of it.

"So the blade has been reforged," Lord Arcana replied almost nonchalantly. There was no anger, no surprise, no shock, not even the slightest movement in his stance that Link had been hoping for. It was if this news didn't even bother Lord Arcana in the slightest. "I was not aware that was even possible. No matter, you still stand no chance against me."

"Is that so?" Link said defiantly as he assumed a battle stance. "Well let's see if you can back up those words."

Lord Arcana just smirked as he simply raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. In an instant four figures materialized around Link: one in front of him, one behind him, and one on either side. The being before Link took the form of a crackling thundercloud in the shape of a large human torso, on top of which was a demon-like head with two glowing yellow orbs for eyes. Two columns of mist extended from the torso like arms and ended in clawlike fingers. It's lower body was that of a swirling tornado.

The being to Link's left was that of a muscular humanoid, save that it was completely engulfed in searing hot flames. On his right was a being made purely of water. Standing as a column of water with two dark blue glowing eyes upon a featureless head, it had two hefty arms extending from its torso area while its lower half trailed off into a tail that ended in a vestigial whirlpool upon the ground. Though unable to see the creature behind him save for the towering shadow of it upon the ground, Link knew exactly what the creature looked like. It was a hulking mass of rock that bore a humanoid torso, a flat head with glowing eyes, and two muscular stone arms and legs made entirely of stone.

They were Elemental Warriors, the highest level of Elemental Magic. Though not having much of an aptitude for magic himself save for what was bestowed upon him by the Great Fairies and such, Link had done some research into the art. Save for Holy and Dark Magic, magic was primarily elemental: Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. It's the basis for all magic, and the ones studied by all mages. While all mages dabble in the basics of all four elements, most choose to master only one. That's because it takes a lifetime to master one of the Elemental Magics, and even then very few ever achieve such a status as the ability to summon an Elemental Warrior. But Lord Arcana was able to summon all four warriors at the same time, with just the snap of his fingers and not even any raw materials around to help create them. It was truly a testament to how powerful and skilled Lord Arcana truly was.

Link swallowed hard, but otherwise remained calm. It was going to take all his cunning to get through this in one piece. Before Link had time to think, the Fire Elemental fired a stream of fire from the palms of its hands at the same time the Water Elemental fired a torrent of water from its hands. Link quickly dived out of the way as the two attacks collided at the spot he had just leapt from, canceling each other out and filling the area with steam. Link was then forced to quickly roll out of the way as the Earth Elemental's massive stone foot came crashing down with enough force to crack the marble floor right in the exact spot Link's head had been mere seconds before.

Link stopped rolling several feet away and got to one knee, but before he could react further he spotted the Air Elemental speeding toward him. Though doubting it would work, Link was left with little choice and took a swipe at the Elemental with the Master Sword. The sword passed harmlessly through the cloudlike body and the Air Elemental barreled straight into Link, catching him within its tornado and flinging him across the room. He hit the ground hard, but was grateful at least that he had been tossed away from the other Elemental Warriors rather than towards.

Link struggled a bit to his feet, but all his senses snapped to attention as he watched the Air Elemental coming around for another pass. Link once again dove out of the way as the Air Elemental took a swipe at him with its clawlike fingers. Link knew he would have to take out the Air Elemental first. Of all the Elemental Warriors, they were the most agile. The problem though, was that virtually all physical attacks were pointless against Elemental warriors. They passed right through the Air and Water Elementals with ease, the Earth Elementals could take all but the heaviest of blows, and even getting close to a Fire Elemental was like suicide.

As Link tried to figure out what to do, he was forced to raise the Mirror Shield to block several incoming flaming missiles shot by the Fire Elemental. While he was busy with that, the Water Elemental melted itself into a pool of water upon the ground and slithered its way over to his feet. Link saw the pool of water weaving its way toward him and knew he could not allow it to get beneath him, but with the Fire Elemental pressing the attack and the Air Elemental coming around for another pass, he didn't have much in the way of escape.

Useless at the moment, Link sheathed the Master Sword and then reinforced the Mirror Shield with his now extra free hand. Instead of blocking the fireballs he was now deflecting the shots by batting them aside, all the while keeping one eye on the Water Elemental and one on the Air Elemental. When the Water Elemental was only a few feet away, Link batted aside one last fireball and then tossed the Mirror Shield down on top of the Water Elemental. Before the shield even landed Link had jumped after it, landing on it and using the momentum from the jump and slickness of the Water Elemental to slide across the smooth, polished, stone floor to safety.

As Link slid across the floor, the Water Elemental formed several tentacles and sent them after Link. Looking back Link spotted the tentacles, drew the Master Sword, and while continuing to slide he sliced all the tentacles that attempted to grab him. When the Water Elemental finally gave up its attack, Link faced forward only to find he was headed straight for the Earth Elemental. The Earth Elemental made the motion of cracking its knuckles before holding its hands out ready to grab hold of Link as he passed by. Link waited till he was almost upon the Elemental before ducking as low as he could, the Earth Elemental's hands grabbing nothing but empty air as Link slid safely beneath its legs.

The Mirror Shield finally slid to a halt just behind the Earth Elemental. Link wasted no time in getting off the shield, picking it up in one swift motion, and running to the opposite side of the room to put as much distance between him and the Elemental Warriors as possible. He needed time to think, to figure out a way to take these things down. Taking a quick glance behind him, however, Link spotted the Air Elemental coming up fast on his heels. Link silently cursed, but kept running just the same as he had no other option at the moment.

The Air Elemental was just too fast. If Link could at least slow it down somewhat it wouldn't be such a problem. It then occurred to Link; cold. Cold slowed things down. If he could freeze the air around the Elemental, then he could hopefully stop it dead in its tracks, maybe even make it physical enough to attack and destroy with his sword. There was only one option open to him, the Ice Arrows. It was a long shot he knew, but at the moment it was the only chance he had of taking out the Air Elemental.

Still running, Link put away his sword and shield and grabbed a hold of his bow and three arrows, as he doubted just one arrow would be enough. Link notched the arrows upon the bow and quickly began to pump his magic into the arrows, transforming them. The arrowheads became encased in solid ice, a blue aura of freezing cold surrounding them. The Ice Arrows were ready, but still Link poured magic into them, making the auras bigger and colder. He knew the arrows themselves would pass right through the Air Elemental, so his only hope was to freeze the air the arrows passed through enough to freeze the Elemental.

Link's own hands were beginning to freeze, his gloves no longer offering any protection. His fingers were going beyond numb now, extreme pain shooting up through them and up his arms. Link was beginning to wonder whether he'd actually be able to move his fingers enough to release the arrows when the time came. Unable to stand it any longer, Link whipped his body around and planted his feet firmly upon the ground as he raised his bow and drew the arrows back. The Air Elemental was almost upon him as Link released the bowstring and let loose the arrows.

The three arrows flew straight and true, the very air they passed through becoming dry and frozen. The arrows flew right through the Air Elemental's body just as Link had guessed, but even before they had reached it he noticed a significant decrease in it's speed. The icy auras crystallized the Air Elemental's body as they passed through, making it physical. It's outstretched hand, with its clawlike fingers ready to tear the flesh off Link's face, stopped frozen in air mere inches away from their target. Link breathed a sigh of relief that his idea had worked, and without hesitation drew his blade and deftly made two diagonal slices across the Air Elemental's frozen body, its four pieces crashing to the ground and shattering upon impact. One elemental down; just three more to go.

Link was not allowed a moment of rest, however, as a molten stream of fire was launched his way. Link rolled out of the way, dropping his sword as he did so, and came out of the roll with the Mirror Shield up just in time to block as the Fire Elemental noticed him dodge and continued the attack at his new location. The stream of fire pressed hard against the shield. It was all Link could do to hold back the attack with both hands, using all the strength he could muster. Link was just thankful that the Mirror Shield would absorb the heat, otherwise the shield would've eventually become to hot to hold on to.

Unlike the Fire Elemental, Link knew his energy was exhaustible. He couldn't hold on forever, and even if he could there were still two other Elemental Warriors out for his blood. As he thought this Link spotted the Water Elemental, now returned to its original form, transform its arms into tentacles and launch them at Link. As they flew through the air the tips of the tentacles became thinner and more pointed and would easily pierce through Link's flesh. He would have to time it perfectly, but Link knew he was left with little option.

Once the tentacles were close enough Link pushed himself off the shield with all his strength and out of the way of both the tentacles and fire. Link managed to escape the fire and one of the tentacles, but the other one succeeded in cutting a gash across Link's left leg. The Mirror Shield meanwhile, no longer having anyone holding it, was sent flying to the wall by the Fire Elemental's attack.

Link cried out in pain at the wound on his leg, but now that he was shield-less he knew he could not afford to rest in one place for even a few seconds. He rolled on his side several times before biting his lip and in one swift motion getting back on his feet. His leg nearly collapsed beneath him, but Link steadied himself quickly. He knew that the Fire and Water Elementals had to be the next ones to go. With quite a bit of distance between them, Link once again took out his bow and created another Ice Arrow. Without hesitation he then fired it at the Fire Elemental.

The arrow flew dead on, but as it got closer the aura around it vanished and the ice around the arrowhead actually began to melt. All that hit the Fire Elemental was a regular arrow, which was incinerated the second it hit. That obviously was not going to work, no matter how cold he made the arrow. Link contemplated trying an Ice Arrow on the Water Elemental, but realized it was pointless as all it would have to do is melt and reform itself and it would be as good as new. With no point to it now, Link put his bow back around his shoulders and then jumped sideways to dodge an incoming fireball.

The second he landed Link regretted his decision to jump as a sharp pain instantly shot it's way up his leg. He didn't have time to dwell upon it, however, as the Water Elemental sent a torrent of water his way. Link couldn't dodge in time and was caught square in the chest. The column of water sent Link flying through the air, slamming him into the wall and pinning him there. The pressure on his chest was making it extremely hard to breath. The Water Elemental let up his attack, which sent Link slumping to the floor, but only so it could once again turn its arms into piercing tentacles and send them flying in Link's direction. Struggling to get air into his lungs, Link saw the tentacles and pushed himself forward off the wall with both his hands, the tentacles flying harmlessly over him and puncturing the wall.

Though having just nearly died, it had given Link an idea. If he could get the Water Elemental to fire a jet of water at the Fire Elemental, that would kill it. Of course it would never do that knowingly, but luckily Link had a way to direct the attack there himself. Link lifted his head and began searching the walls for the Mirror Shield. He soon spotted the shield, its shiny surface glinting quite a distance away. Link got to his feet as fast as he could, and then sprinted toward the shield as best he could, all the while ignoring the now burning pain shooting up his leg. All the while the Fire and Water Elementals threw attack after attack in his direction.

In a final ditch effort Link dove for the shield, just narrowly missing having his head cleaved off by one of the Water Elemental's tentacles. Link grabbed hold of the shield and quickly brought it up as the Water Elemental luckily launched the very attack he was looking for. The impact nearly sent Link toppling over, but he resisted and then fought with all his might against the immense pressure being exerted against the shield to angle it and redirect the stream of water back toward the Fire Elemental.

The water hit the Fire Elemental full force, a painful, earsplitting screech sounding from it as its fire was extinguished. The Water Elemental quickly cut its attack, but it was already too late, the Fire Elemental was laying on the ground, its body looking like molten rock. Its body sputtered in several places as it tried to reignite itself. With little time to spare Link used Farore's Wind to teleport himself beside the Fire Elemental, and then using the Master Sword he decapitated the Elemental and then drove his sword into its chest just to be safe. The Elemental's corpse burst into a cloud of black smoke before dissipating into nothingness.

Link was not to be allowed a breather as out of the corner of his eye he saw that the Water Elemental had once again melted into a pool of water and was rapidly snaking its way toward him. As it did it formed and shot forth tentacles which Link hacked at with the Master Sword whenever they came near. It wouldn't be long before the Water Elemental would be upon him, so Link had to think quickly or perish.

Link's mind flew back to the beginning of the battle, when the Fire Elemental and Water Elemental had launched their attacks. Link had dodged them, causing them to impact and cancel each other out; the fire had reduced the water to nothing more than steam. If Link could rapidly heat up the Water Elemental and turn it into steam, then it would be no more. Unfortunately, the Fire Elemental was now dead, and his Fire Arrows wouldn't be able to pack enough punch to do the job, no matter how many he shot. His only hope lied with casting Din's Fire.

Link quickly began gathering the energy necessary to cast the spell. He had little time as the Water Elemental quickly closed the gap between them. Just as the Water Elemental reached him it instantly transformed into a giant wave that threatened to come crashing down right on top of Link. In that instant Link cast Din's Fire. An aura of intense fire and heat formed around Link's body and spread outward in a dome like shape. The spell engulfed the Water Elemental's entire body, vaporizing it upon contact and filling the surrounding area in a dense cloud of steam.

Finally able to take a short rest, and with the steam providing cover, Link turned his attention to his leg, which was still bleeding quite profusely. It was times like this Link wished he had learned at least one healing spell. He would have to do without though, so Link ripped off a piece of his pants and wrapped it tightly around the gash in his leg to stymy the blood loss. Just as Link was finishing up tying the knot, something gripped Link's arm tightly and flung him across the room. He ended up landing haphazardly into the throne in the middle of the room, intense pain ripping throughout his body.

Forcing his eyes open through the pain, Link watched the Earth Elemental running over to him. Link barely rolled off the throne in time before the Earth Elemental slammed its fist down into it, shattering the throne into thousands of pieces. Link crawled beneath the Elemental's feet before quickly getting to his own, eyes quickly scanning the area for where his sword had landed when he was thrown. He spotted the Master Sword not too far away and ran full speed in its direction. As he ran, Link felt as if something was missing. He looked behind him real quick and saw that his bow was lying at the Earth Elemental's feet, broken in half, apparently from when he had been thrown.

Though that bow had been with him a long time, and had saved his life on more than one occasion since he retrieved it from the Forest Temple, Link had little time to lament over its loss. Link retrieved his sword and turned around to see both of the Earth Elemental's hands plunged down into the very floor. He watched confusedly as the Earth Elemental then lifted its hands high above its head, ripping out a huge chunk of the floor as it did so. The Earth Elemental then wasted no time in tossing the huge boulder-like piece of the floor in Link's direction. Link waited, watching to be sure of where it would land, and then side-stepped out of the way as it came crashing down right next to him. Looking at the chunk of floor, Link had no idea how he was going to defeat the Earth Elemental.

"Link, heat and cold," came a female voice.

Link knew that voice; it was Zelda. Whether she had yelled it to him or sent it telepathically he didn't know, but he understood what she meant. The Earth Elemental was made of rock. If he superheated it and then quickly cooled it off, the rock would shatter like glass. Upon this realization Link looked up and turned in Zelda's direction. As he did so a big, rock-hard hand wrapped itself around his throat and began to squeeze, even going so far as to lift Link about a foot off the ground.

Link didn't struggle. He knew to do so would only kill him faster. Though it was hard with the grip around his neck getting tighter by the second and his eyes threatening to pop right out of their sockets, Link remained calm and concentrated the best he could. He would use Din's Fire to heat the Elemental, and then finish it off with the Ice Arrows. Since he was starting to become lightheaded and lose consciousness, Link had no choice but to try both spells simultaneously.

As he was summoning Din's Fire, Link reached behind him and grabbed one arrow in each hand. Then, using only his hands, he began transforming the arrows into Ice Arrows. Casting two spells at once was difficult, at least for him, but doing spells that were complete opposites only made things worse. Still, using all his willpower left Link managed to transform both arrows. Once that was done he unleashed Din's Fire, engulfing the Earth Elemental in the intense aura of fire and heat.

Once the spell was over Link looked to see the Elemental's body glowing a red-orange. With his life on the verge of slipping away, Link summoned what strength remained and slammed one of the Ice Arrows into the Elemental's wrist. The wrist shattered and Link fell to the ground in a heap, the stone fingers releasing themselves from around his throat. As fresh air made its way into Link's lungs, he could hear the Earth Elemental writhe in pain. Looking up, however, he saw that the Elemental had recovered and was swinging its remaining fist straight at Link. Still too weak to dodge effectively, and not wanting the Elemental to cool off, Link flung the other Ice Arrow up at its head. The arrow hit its mark, shattering the stone head. The rest of the body simply fell backward and crumbled as it crashed down upon the ground.

Link was breathing slow and heavy and his body was already quite sore, but although his battle with the Elementals was over he still had Lord Arcana to deal with. He rose to his feet smoothly, his wounded leg a little unsteady at first. The bleeding seemed to have ceased and the leg was now mostly numb so it wasn't as much a hindrance anymore. Link calmly turned to face Lord Arcana, finding him standing in the same spot he had been in. Link then proceeded to remove his near empty quiver of arrows and unhook his sheath from around his shoulders, letting both simply fall at his feet. Free of the extra weight, Link took the Master Sword and Mirror Shield in his hands and stood at the ready.

"Impressive," Lord Arcana said, clapping his hands several times in a slow, amused fashion. "Your skills have definitely improved since that night we faced one another. There is something different about you; you're calmer, much more at peace. This certainly promises to be interesting, even if the end result will be the same."

Link kept his composure, waiting for Lord Arcana to make the first move. He watched as Lord Arcana drew out Dragonflame in an almost taunting fashion. His grip upon his sword and shield tensed slightly, but more out of anticipation than anger or succumbing to the taunts. With his sword fully drawn, Lord Arcana smirked and rushed forward at blinding speed. Link held his shield out before him as he pulled back the Master Sword into position to counterattack. Just before reaching Link, however, Lord Arcana vanished.

Link's eyes went wide with shock, yet he wasted no time in spinning his body around, raising his shield just in time to block the downward slash of Dragonflame. The blow sent Link's arm wide, leaving his body open, but Link managed to swing his sword around in time to deflect the return strike upward. The two blades became locked before Link and Lord Arcana both pushed back off each other, each coming back for another attack.

Link swung his sword high, but Lord Arcana ducked his head out of reach and made a thrust with his own sword. Link caught the attack with his shield and pushed back sending Dragonflame wide and leaving Lord Arcana open for attack this time around. Using the momentum from his first attack, Link snapped the Master Sword down but Lord Arcana was too quick and was able to bring Dragonflame back up in enough time to block the attack. As the blades hit Lord Arcana raised his massive boot and kicked Link hard in the chest sending him sprawling backwards to the floor. He then tried to capitalize by bearing Dragonflame down upon Link, but Link managed to raise his shield in time to defend himself before rolling out of harm's way.

Lord Arcana was already barreling toward Link with Dragonflame held in a thrusting position as Link got back to his feet. Link was ready and easily sidestepped the attack, using both the Master Sword and Lord Arcana's own momentum to send him stumbling forward a few paces as Link spun around on his heels and bashed Lord Arcana hard in the back of his head with the Mirror Shield. Lord Arcana grunted in pain, but didn't go down, instead swinging his sword wide behind him. Link was easily able to jump back away from the desperate move, landing nimbly on his feet and assuming a defensive stance as Lord Arcana whipped his body around, sword held ready to attack and defend.

"Not bad," Lord Arcana said as he brought his hand up to where a small trickle of blood was running down the side of his head, "but playtime is over."

Lord Arcana brought his hand back down so he could grip Dragonflame with it. As he held it before him with both hands, Link began to notice a swirling, red aura starting to surround the black blade. Lord Arcana was either invoking the sword's true power, or pumping his own power into it. Either way, it spelt major trouble for Link. He had no choice now. There was no more holding back. It was time for Link to unleash the full power of the Master Sword. Link just hoped that his training with Minerva had been enough. As Link freed his mind, letting himself and the Master Sword become one, a swirling blue aura began to surround the Master Sword's silvery blade.

His sword ready, Lord Arcana charged forth. Link quickly charged the Master Sword with energy and did a spin attack, unleashing the built up energy in a powerful wave. Lord Arcana was able to absorb most of the attack with Dragonflame, but the attack had stopped him in his tracks and even pushed him back. Link used this opportunity to capitalize and did a jump attack. Lord Arcana blocked the blow with his sword and at the same time engulfed his free hand in flames and threw a punch in Link's direction which he blocked with the Mirror Shield. Arcana scowled, but Link just smiled. It was now or never.

Link spun on his heels and went for an upper diagonal slash, which Lord Arcana blocked with ease, but Link didn't end it there. He quickly followed up with another slash, and then another. Link pressed the attack, sending vertical, horizontal, and diagonal slashes with an occasional thrust thrown in at Lord Arcana. Link never used the same attack twice in a row, and kept his combinations random so Lord Arcana couldn't memorize his movements. Each attack was decided upon by the way Arcana had blocked the previous one, and if Link's momentum threatened to end he threw a swing with the Mirror Shield to keep Lord Arcana on the defensive.

Link kept on the offensive, never letting Lord Arcana even a moment to breath, yet he blocked every attack sent his way. However, Lord Arcana was effectively pinned. There was not even the slightest opening for him to make a move, whether it be to counterattack or to escape the onslaught. Link couldn't keep this up forever though. He was still exhausted from his fight with the Elementals, and it would only be a matter of time before what strength he had left in him faded. He needed to find an opening and strike.

Each time Lord Arcana blocked, Link studied his movements, looking for anything that he could capitalize on. Unfortunately, Lord Arcana defended himself expertly, leaving absolutely nothing exposed even against such a barrage of strikes. Even with Link's attacks as randomized as they were, still Lord Arcana kept up an iron-clad defense. That's when it came to Link. Though his attacks were random, Lord Arcana still knew what types of attacks to expect. If Link was to have any chance, he'd need to pull out a new one.

Knowing he would have only one shot at this and that if he failed his momentum would be broken and Lord Arcana would once again be allowed on the offensive, Link steeled himself and waited for the right moment. Making a downward slash with the Master Sword, Link waited until Lord Arcana blocked and then quickly dropped down to perform a leg sweep. Lord Arcana was caught completely off guard, but still managed to jump back out of the way, albeit haphazardly. Before he could recover Link was already upon him and drove the Master Sword directly into Lord Arcana's heart. Lord Arcana's eyes went wide as the cold steel pierced his flesh, and Dragonflame slipped from his fingers. Link breathed in deeply as he stood there with the Master Sword still plunged deep in Arcana's chest, a smile on his face.


	17. Duel of Destiny pt2

Captain Huntley ducked beneath the wide, overhead swing from the serrated blade of his Darknut adversary, the sword harmlessly grazing the top of his helm. As he did so, the second Darknut went for a cross-body chop. Huntley twisted his body to avoid the fatal blow, then dropped fully to the ground to relieve the strain he had put on his spine with his radical contortion. Normally, he'd have leg-swept the nearest enemy at this point, but since Darknut armor was so thick he knew all he would accomplish would be breaking his leg.

Before either Darknut could capitalize on his current vulnerability, Captain Huntley rolled out of their reach and leapt to his feet. Almost before Huntley could get his defenses up the Darknuts were charging forth. The one in the lead went for a thrust, which Huntley quickly parried before bringing his sword back up to block the attack coming from the second Darknut. It continued on in this fashion, first one Darknut and then the other attacking, working in perfect tandem. Huntley blocked every blow sent his way, but each hit sapped more and more of his strength away. Not only that, but he was being driven backward, and with his attention focused on the two Darknuts before him, he had no idea what he could possibly be backing into.

Captain Huntley wished he could at least fight back, but Darknut armor was nearly impenetrable. Only Gorons had the raw strength to break through the armor, but even that was only after repeated hits. Darunia could achieve such a feat with one hit, but that was only cause his punches were augmented by his Sage powers. The only true weakness in their armor was the eye slit of their helms, which had been discovered by Malon the previous year. Still, Captain Huntley doubted he would get the chance to make such an attack, nor the accuracy to actually pull it off should he get such an opportunity.

Princess Ruto was faring no better. In terms of defense, she was untouchable. She was way too fast and flexible for either of her Darknut opponents to even come close to landing a blow upon her. In terms of offense, however, she had no form of recourse. Her fins, while useful against normal enemies, were as useless against Darknut armor as regular swords were. She did have her magic to fall back on, but the Darknuts were pressing their attack firmly, giving her little time to summon an attack powerful enough to take them out.

Ruto wasn't sure how much longer she could keep it up either. All of her fancy maneuvers were taking their toll on her, and all it would take was one slip up and she'd be finished. Coming out of a backward handspring, Ruto spotted the pile of debris from where she and the others had blown a hole in the wall and an idea came to mind. Landing back on her feet, she quickly raised her right hand out in front of her and a translucent shield surrounded her body. The closer of her two adversaries swung his blade, but it slammed harmlessly into the shield.

The Darknut was undeterred, however, and swung his sword again, and again, repeatedly hitting the shield to no apparent avail. When the second Darknut caught up, he pitched in, attacking the shield without mercy. Despite the combined power of both Darknuts, the shield held quite firmly. Ruto herself wasn't faring as well. It required a considerable amount of concentration to maintain the shield, and the repeated hits it kept taking only made it that much more difficult. Ruto's eyes were clenched tightly shut to help, but her body was beginning to shake from the strain.

Keeping as much of her focus on maintaining the shield as possible, Ruto split her concentration to perform her real plan. Ever so slowly Ruto's left arm began to rise pointing out to her side. As she did this, one of the larger of the boulders in the nearby debris pile began to shake before slowly rising up into the air. The boulder was easily four times Ruto's size, and it's entire surface was jagged. Once clear of the debris, Ruto snapped her left arm out in front of her and the boulder hurtled toward her like an arrow.

The two Darknuts stood next to each other as they continued to assault Ruto's shield, hoping that attacking the same place would destroy the shield sooner. They were completely unaware of the boulder flying toward them at breakneck speed. The boulder collided into first one, and then the second Darknut, pinning the two of them to itself as it continued on its suicide course, finally coming to a rest as it slammed into the side of the Black Tower with an earth-shaking impact.

The boulder was buried a good several feet into the side of the tower with large stress cracks having formed around the impact crater. With little chance the Darknuts survived, Ruto released her shield and collapsed onto her hands and knees. Her breaths were coming in large, heavy gasps, and her body was covered from head to toe in sweat. Ruto slowly raised her head to look over at the boulder, and satisfied that there was no movement from it whatsoever, allowed herself a small smile as she let her body recover.

On the other side of the battlefield, Nabooru sidestepped a thrust from the front and then quickly ducked as a second Darknut swung at her from behind. Nabooru planted both hands firmly on the ground and then pushed off, nailing the Darknut behind her with both feet and sending him sprawling to the ground. The Darknut before her went to capitalize before Nabooru could recover, but she immediately rolled to the side and came back up, both of her scimitars held at the ready. The Darknut swung wide, which Nabooru blocked with one scimitar and then slipped in through his defenses and aimed her remaining scimitar at the Darknut's neck, hoping she could penetrate what she hoped would be weaker armor.

The Darknut was too quick. He brought his sword back around and went for an overhead strike, putting as much force behind the attack as he could. Using both her scimitars Nabooru blocked the attack before it could cleave her skull in two. The three blades were now locked. The Darknut refused to give up on the attack and continued to put his strength into it, pushing down with all his might while Nabooru held her ground, matching him strength for strength. By this time the Darknut she had knocked to the ground was back on his feet and charging toward Nabooru to deliver the killing blow while she was distracted.

As the Darknut charged forth, the ground beneath him began to shake. He slowed his advance and began looking around himself for anything out of the ordinary. The ground directly in front of him cracked and split, and as the Darknut looked down to inspect a large, glowing fist followed by the rest of Darunia's body came crashing through the ground and directly into the Darknut's chest. It all happened in the blink of an eye; the Darknut had no time to respond as Darunia's fist drove straight through his chest and out through his back.

The Darknut's body fell instantly limp. Darunia climbed completely out of the ground and threw the Darknut off his arm, its body collapsing into a heap upon the ground. The Darknut's blood dripping off his arm, Darunia stared at the heap, thankful that his and Nabooru's plan had succeeded. He turned his head to see if Nabooru needed any assistance and saw the blade of a sword heading straight for his neck. Without a second to spare Darunia curled himself up into a ball, the sword strike passing by harmlessly overhead, and started rolling away from the Darknut to gain some distance.

Out of the corner of his eye Captain Huntley witnessed Darunia's successful surprise attack and inwardly cheered. Despite being outnumbered at the beginning of the battle they were now all even. Unfortunately, he was still the only warrior still forced to fight two Darknuts at the same time. He sidestepped a vertical strike and spun his sword around hoping to catch the Darknut off-guard. His sword connected, but glanced harmlessly off the Darknut's armor. Huntley silently cursed as he was then forced to jump away to avoid the second Darknut's attack from behind.

Regaining his footing, Huntley pushed off from the ground and lunged at the nearest Darknut. The Darknut was turning around to face him, so was unaware of the attack coming his way. Knowing the blade would be useless against the armor, Huntley drew his sword back, and when the opportunity presented itself he brought the hilt of his sword up into the chin of the Darknut with all the strength he could muster. The Darknut staggered backwards, which Huntley immediately followed up with a leg sweep, tripping the Darknut.

Knowing the Darknut's compatriot wouldn't be far behind, Huntley spun around just in time to block a powerful strike. The force of the hit shattered Captain Huntley's blade and sent him sprawling backward to the ground. Before he could even get a sense of what had just happened, Huntley saw the Darknut jump into the air with both his sword and knee aimed right at him. His eyes wide with shock, Huntley rolled out of the way just as the Darknut's sword and knee came crashing down into the ground where his body had been.

Captain Huntley quickly jumped to his feet and looked down at the broken sword in his hand. He glanced quickly at the Darknut and saw that he was still trying to pull his sword free of the ground. An idea hit him; a most foolhardy plan but it was all he had now. Gripping the hilt tightly, Captain Huntley charged the Darknut, screaming as he did. The Darknut turned to look at him and Huntley slammed the broken blade of his sword through the eye-slit of the Darknut's helmet. The Darknut fell over dead, and Huntley breathed out a sigh of relief.

Out of the corner of his eye, however, Huntley saw the Darknut he knocked down earlier get back to his feet. Now weaponless, Huntley attempted to free the Darknut's sword from the ground. It was heavier than he had imagined. The Darknut's had to have trained quite profusely with those swords to wield them so proficiently. Still, Huntley managed to get the sword up in time to block the Darknut's strike. Without being able to truly wield the sword himself, Huntley dropped it after his successful block and began to run away from the Darknut.

Darunia was faring hardly any better. He had since uncurled himself due to there being too many weaknesses the Darknut could have exploited, and was now running, the Darknut close on his heels. Darunia had to admit, the Darknut was a lot faster than he had originally thought. Now that Darunia was running and not rolling, the Darknut would easily overtake him, so Darunia had no choice but to stand his ground. He sensed the Darknut swinging his sword behind him and rapidly spun around, crossing his arms in front of him to protect his body. The strike hit hard, the Darknut's blade cutting into the rock-hard skin of Darunia's right arm.

Darunia winced at the pain, but summoned his strength and thrust his arms out, pushing the Darknut back. The Darknut recovered almost instantly and swung his sword low. Darunia realized he had no time to dodge the attack. Using his magic, he caused a small pillar of stone to erupt from the ground. It slammed directly in the center of the Darknut's chest, sending him flying backwards several feet, but it hadn't been quick enough. Though Darunia didn't lose his leg as was originally intended, the Darknut's blade cut quite deeply into it.

Darunia's legs immediately collapsed beneath him and he fell to the ground, immense pain shooting through his leg. He sensed someone approaching from the left and readied a fist to defend himself, but as they got closer he sensed a familiar aura and relaxed. Ruto knelt down beside him and immediately began to examine his wounds.

"These wounds are pretty bad," she said worriedly. "I'll do what I can though. If only Saria were here, this is her specialty."

"Just get me well enough so that I can go back out there and bash some heads," Darunia replied with a lopsided grin.

Ruto smiled at him and then placed both her hands upon the wound of his leg. Her hands began to glow in a blue light that was seeping into the wound. Slowly, the wound began to close. The clanking of armor soon caught their attention and Ruto and Darunia both looked up to see a Darknut with a dent in his chest plate standing before them, his sword held high above his head. Darunia and Ruto knew their was no time to react as the Darknut began to downward swing. Their eyes clenched shut and bodies tensed as their inevitable death drew near. Instead, their faces were splashed with a warm liquid.

Opening their eyes, both Darunia's and Ruto's mouths fell open, their eyes widened, and their bodies went numb. Standing there with his back to them was Captain Huntley, the Darknut's sword wedged deep into his abdomen. The blade had sliced diagonally from his left shoulder down almost to his right hip, very nearly severing his body into two. There was no life left in the body, yet it continued to stand there simply because of the sword buried within it. Roughly, the Darknut yanked his sword free and Huntley's body collapsed upon the ground, the pieces almost separating as it fell.

Nabooru, who had been dueling her opponent not to far away, had watched in horror as Huntley was cut down. An intense rage overtook her as Nabooru threw down her swords and took off at a full sprint toward the Darknut who had killed Captain Huntley. As she ran her right hand began to glow in an orange aura. She kept her fingers straight out and pulled back her arm as if ready to thrust her hand straight out. The Darknut's back was to her and so had no idea she was coming, but even if he had heard her approaching, at the speed she was running he wouldn't have been able to turn around in time. As Nabooru reached her goal she thrust her right hand straight ahead of her, instantly piercing the Darknut's armor.

Darunia and Nabooru watched as the Darknut's yellow eyes went wide in surprise. An inhuman, earsplitting screech soon followed as Nabooru gripped her left hand upon the Darknut's shoulder and appeared to be pulling something with her right hand still buried in the Darknut's back. The Darknut's body arched as if something was being wrenched from it. As Nabooru's hand was slowly pulled out, her hand was gripped tightly around a translucent, silvery substance. As more and more of this substance was pulled out, it began to take the form of the Darknut itself, and the Darknut's screams only worsened. Then, in a bright flash Nabooru yanked hard and removed the silvery substance fully from the Darknut. The Darknut's screams ceased instantly, and it's body crumbled to the ground. The silvery substance had taken the form of the Darknut completely now, and its limbs were flailing wildly as the screams were now emanating from it. Nabooru released it and the substance floated up into the air before exploding in a bright light.

As silence once again fell over the battlefield, Darunia and Ruto looked up at Nabooru. She was panting heavily, but her eyes were still full of rage. Nabooru had used the most powerful weapon in the Spirit Sage's arsenal, one that she believed she would never use. Nabooru had literally ripped the spirit, the soul, of the Darknut from his body. The pain of such an act was beyond words. It was said that the pain was like having one's skin ripped extremely slowly from their body, only a hundred times worse. Once free from the body, the soul was destroyed as if it had never existed in the first place.

The sound of armor in the distance caught her attention and Nabooru spun around to see the remaining two Darknuts standing there, their weapons held at the ready. Darunia, whose leg had been healed enough to stand upon by now, and Ruto walked over to stand by Nabooru. They stared at the Darknuts, and then turned to look at each other. Without words, Nabooru and Ruto nodded at Darunia, who nodded back to each of them. They knew it was time to end it.

Darunia curled himself into a ball and encased his body in a red aura. Nabooru and Ruto then placed their hands upon his back, each one pumping whatever magic they still had left into him. As they did so, blue spikes formed upon Darunia's back, but Nabooru's magic didn't immediately manifest itself. The Darknuts weren't about to just stand idly by and began to charge forth. Once Nabooru and Ruto had finished transferring all their remaining power into Darunia, they removed their hands from his back and Darunia sped off at full speed toward the charging Darknuts leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.

Darunia was augmenting his speed with his own power, a shallow trench being formed as he raced along. He was spinning so fast that the blue spikes on his back appeared to form together into a single blade. As the gap between Darunia and the Darknuts grew smaller, Darunia's body became engulfed in an orange aura and appeared to split, an exact copy of Darunia splitting off and heading toward one Darknut while the original headed toward the other. Both Darknuts brought their swords around to counter, but the two Darunia's were too fast. They slammed into the Darknuts, the spikes slicing through the armor and piercing the enemies within, killing them both.

With the last of the Darknuts dead, the two Darunia's rejoined. He then came to a halt and uncurled himself, the auras having vanished. He turned around and saw Nabooru retrieving her swords and Ruto peering down at Huntley's body.

"Come on guys," Darunia said as he turned to look at the tower, "we've got to go rescue the prisoners."

Ruto and Nabooru both nodded and took off toward the entrance to the Black Tower. Both of them were able to fit through the entrance easily enough, but Darunia was forced to walk through sideways, and even then he still had a hard time squeezing his body through. Roughly halfway down the hallway, Ruto, who was in the lead, stopped at the stairwell leading down into the depths of the earth.

"The prisoners are down there," Ruto said as she looked back at Nabooru and Darunia. "I can sense Saria down there."

No sooner did she say this then the sounds of an intense fight came echoing back to them from the room at the end of the hallway. All three of the Sages turned and looked in the direction of the sounds, but none were able to see into the room beyond.

"Maybe we should . . ." Nabooru began to say.

"No," Darunia said, cutting off Nabooru. "Our job is to rescue the prisoners and get them out of here. Besides, we've all exhausted our magic and would be more of a hindrance than a help to whomever is fighting in there. Link and Navi have their jobs, and so do we. Ruto, lead the way."

With one last look toward the end of the hall, Ruto turned and began her descent down the stairs, followed closely by Nabooru and Darunia. The stairwell opened up more so Darunia was now able to walk comfortably down the stairs. The stairwell seemed to descend forever, and if not for the torches placed along the walls they would have been in complete darkness, unable to see even an inch in front of their eyes.

When they finally reached the bottom they were in a large dungeon. Dozens of prison cells ran the length on either side of the room, almost every one of them occupied. Most of the Kokiri within them looked on the verge of death. Their skin was pale, and most were listless. Even those who were aware and saw the three Sages standing there barely showed any sign of hope or excitement. Perhaps they believed they were merely seeing an illusion. Without hesitation the three Sages went to work opening the cells and freeing the prisoners. It wasn't long before Darunia found a familiar female Kokiri.

"Saria, are you okay?" Darunia asked after ripping the door off her cell and walking up to her.

"It's about time you guys showed up," Saria replied with a weak, yet grateful smile. "I was starting to think you guys didn't love us anymore."

"Glad to see Lord Arcana hasn't broken your spirit," Ruto replied back. Then, looking around she asked, "Where's Zelda?"

"Saria's face darkened slightly. "Arcana came and took her a while ago. I haven't seen her since. If you guys are here though, I bet it's safe to assume he's using her as bait for Link."

"Damn!" shouted Darunia.

"What do we do now?" asked Ruto.

"We get everyone out of here and to someplace safe. Zelda's fate is in Link's hands now."

"By the Goddesses!" Nabooru shouted, causing both Darunia and Ruto to look in her direction where she stood before a prison cell. "It's Impa!"

* * *

Sweat poured from Link's brow. He slackened his grip upon the Master Sword, but still held it firmly planted deep within Lord Arcana's heart. Link was panting, but with each passing second his breathing became more and more steady. His eyes were fixed upon the ground, and the smile on his face had yet to vanish. Letting out a deep breath, Link turned his head to look up at his handy work. As he did so, a gauntleted fist flew through the air and connected with bone-crushing force into the side of Link's face.

Link flew through the air, crashing to the ground several feet away from where he'd been moments ago. A sharp, fiery pain ripped through Link's face as he got up to his hands and knees. He brought his hand up to cup his face and felt his warm blood seeping out of the cuts caused by the metal plates of the gauntlet, but as far as he could tell his jaw at least was not broken. Bright spots danced before Link's eyes, and he tried to blink and rub them away, but it wasn't until the pain in his face reduced itself to a throbbing numbness that his vision started to clear up.

Unable to fathom what had just happened, Link looked up. His jaw dropped, sending a new wave of pain through his body, but the pain didn't even phase him as much as the sight before him did. Even Zelda, still magically chained to the wall, was staring in disbelief. Lord Arcana was still standing, and even moving his body, with the Master Sword still sticking out of his chest. Arcana simply stood there, a wicked grin across his face as he flexed the fingers of the hand he punched Link with. Then, after tightening the gauntlet on his hand, he turned to face both Link and Zelda and laughed.

Both Link and Zelda were at a loss for words. They just continued to stare on in disbelief as now Lord Arcana reached up and gripped the hilt of the Master Sword. His face winced immediately upon grabbing the sword and he started to grunt in pain before even attempting to pull the sword out. When he did start to pull, it was slowly rather than one quick yank. As he continued to pull, the metal of his gauntlet was beginning to glow red as if heated. Once the blade of the Master Sword was fully removed from his flesh, Lord Arcana wasted no time in tossing it to the other side of the room. He then brought the palm of his still glowing hand up to his face. Once the metal stopped glowing, he flexed his fingers slowly, wincing as he did so.

"Apparently the legends are true that the Master Sword cannot be wielded by just anyone," Arcana said more to himself than anyone as he continued staring at his hand.

"I-impossible," Link finally managed to stutter. "Y-you're . . . y-you're . . ."

"Dead?" Lord Arcana finished, lowering his hand and staring directly at Link. "Come now, you didn't really think I wouldn't have planned for my own death; did you? Besides, if my own son couldn't kill me a year ago, then what made you think you could do it now?"

Link's head jolted up and his eyes widened at the comment, but it was only for the briefest of seconds. Still, Lord Arcana had noticed the action and smiled. "Ah, yes," he continued, "you never even considered that did you? It never even crossed your mind how I survived being fatally stabbed by Ganon. You were too busy focusing on the here and now; too busy focusing on what I was up to and how to stop me rather than asking yourself why and how I was here."

"You're immortal," Link blurted out.

Lord Arcana just stopped for a second and stared at Link, his face completely expressionless. Arcana soon started to snort and then broke out into a full fit of laughter. Both Link and Zelda simply stared at him.

"An interesting assumption my dear boy," Lord Arcana said when his laughter had died down enough for him to speak, "but no. Only the Goddesses are truly immortal and only the Triforce could grant immortality to someone. No, I live because you can't kill that which has no soul."

"What?!" Link shouted, unable to process what he was hearing.

"You're a monster," Zelda spat.

"Oh, quite the contrary my dear. I am no different than either of you. I of course have a soul, but it currently resides within another vessel."

"But that's impossible," Link said, dumbfounded.

"Not for somebody as skilled in magic as I am. You can think of it as one of the ultimate forms of magic, the ability to transfer one's soul to another. I had performed it before my invasion last year, and so when my son stabbed me I only pretended to die. I even transferred a small amount of my power to him just to make the illusion seem real."

"Wait," Zelda interrupted, "you said transfer to another. Then that means . . ."

Arcana smiled. "You don't think I'd be foolish enough to put it in some inanimate object do you? That's too risky. No, I put it inside a living being, something that can defend itself, and in turn defend me. Of course, it can't be just anybody either. Not only must they be a skilled warrior, but they must be completely loyal to me. As long as they live, then nothing you do to this body will kill me."

Link's eyes widened. "Gerik!"

* * *

Dozens of sparks burst forth from each impact of Navi's and Gerik's blades. Both Navi and Gerik were putting their full strength behind each attack, and each could feel it in their own arms as the blades collided. The swords themselves vibrated violently which each hit. It was a wonder that neither blade had yet broken under the stress. Still, the wear and tear of such powerful blows had given the two swords the appearance of a weapon that's seen a year's worth of combat.

Spinning out of a blocked attack, Navi came around and swung her sword up, which Gerik deftly blocked. Navi then quickly dropped and went for a leg-sweep, but Gerik saw the movement and back-flipped over the sweep. As he was coming down, he watched as Navi thrust her hand out toward him with ice daggers being flung from each of her fingertips. Gerik brought his sword up, but was only able to block three of the daggers, the other two grazing his arm and leg. Gerik winced from the hits and grabbed at his wounds, but they were far from life threatening. In fact, they were nothing more than minor inconveniences.

Navi knew she couldn't afford to give Gerik even a second to catch his breath, so she quickly infused her sword with magic and swung it in his direction sending slash like beams of energy at him. Gerik watched the beams carefully waiting for the right moment. As they drew near Gerik twisted his body, the beams just narrowly missing him. Before he could even straighten his body, Navi was upon him bringing her sword down hard and fast. Gerik knocked his own legs out beneath him and fell hard down to the ground, but Navi's attack missed and she was stumbling forward as she tried to regain her footing.

Gerik knew he didn't have enough time to get back on his feet to capitalize before she recovered, so he grabbed a dagger and tossed it at her back. The dagger hit her square in the lower back, embedding itself within her flesh right between the joints of her chest and waist armor. Navi screamed in pain, but wasted no time in spinning around to keep her eyes trained on Gerik. Once assured of where he was, she reached behind her and removed the dagger. Bringing the dagger up to her face, Navi quickly examined the blade to insure there was no poison on it before tossing the dagger to the side.

Gerik was about to capitalize, but Navi had turned around too quickly putting a stop to any advantage he would've had. Instead, he simply picked himself up off the ground while she was busy removing the dagger and examining its blade. Once she had tossed it away, Gerik flashed her a smug grin and threw down a Deku Nut. In a flash he was gone and Navi immediately tightened up her defenses, scanning the entire length of the room for where Gerik would make his next strike.

Navi knew Gerik was anything but predictable, so he could strike from any direction. He had already tried attacking from above earlier, but even so Navi kept watch on her own shadow just in case he tried it again. Slowly, Navi rotated her body in place, making as little noise as possible so she could hopefully hear Gerik's approach. Sheikah, of course, never made any noise but she could still hope.

She finished her rotation without even a glimpse of Gerik. There was no way to attack her from below, so that left only above. Navi quickly looked up and began scanning the ceiling for Gerik's hiding place. No sooner did she look up than several daggers came flying toward her, yet there was still no sign of Gerik. Sensing the deception, Navi fired a massive fire ball to deflect the incoming daggers and then spun on her heels, deflecting Gerik's thrust as she did so. Gerik simply smiled and jumped back to put some distance between them.

Navi wasn't going to give Gerik the space to try another maneuver like that and charged forth, driving her sword at his heart. Gerik parried the thrust and attempted to chop her sword hand off, but Navi grabbed his arm with her free hand in an ironlike grip. The two of them locked eyes. Navi's eyes were full of anger and rage, while Gerik's were just cold and filled with almost amusement in them.

"What's the matter sweetie," Gerik said with a smile, "that the best you can do?"

Navi gave him a look of disgust, but had no time to reply, with words or actions, as Gerik kicked her hard in the chest. Her grip on his arm was released and he was free to act again, but as Navi stumbled back she fired an energy blast from her hand. The blast hit Gerik square in the chest and sent him flying into the wall behind him. He hit the wall hard and started to fall forward, but he was quickly thrust up against the wall again and pinned as Navi gripped his shirt and placed her sword against his throat.

Despite the cold steel pressed up against his throat, Gerik just smiled as he peered down into Navi's face. Navi was just one stroke away from finishing it, from ending Gerik's life, yet she made no move. Gerik could see the hatred in her features, yet still she hesitated. Gerik didn't feel like waiting for her to finally decide to finish him off and so jabbed the hilt of his sword into her solar plexus. The breath having left her lungs, Gerik grabbed hold of her arm and flipped her to the ground.

"I knew you couldn't bring yourself to kill me," Gerik stated simply as he looked down upon Navi.

* * *

"Ah, so you do have a brain," Lord Arcana said humorously. "You are correct; Gerik is my current vessel. Little good it does you now though. Soon, you will be dead, as well as your little Guardian friend."

"You bastard!" Link shouted as he got to his feet. "You've been controlling Gerik this entire time, making us believe he had turned on us!"

Link balled his fist and took off at a run straight for Lord Arcana. Arcana simply stood there with an amused expression on his face as Link approached. Link pulled his fist back and then thrust forth with all the strength he could muster at Arcana's face, but Arcana simply sidestepped out of Link's path and stuck his foot out before him, which Link tripped over falling flat on his face.

"My, my, such anger," Lord Arcana said as he kicked Link hard enough in the side to send him rolling away several times before he came to a rest on his back. "Believe it or not, but I hold as much control over Gerik as I do you. His decisions are of his own free will."

"Liar!" Link croaked as he struggled to get back to his feet from the vicious kick. "Gerik would never . . ."

"You're thinking too one-dimensionally. The Gerik you fought side-by-side with would never turn his back on his friends, but is that truly all there was to him? Whether you want to accept it or not, there is darkness inside each and every one of us, including you."

Link was stopped by Arcana's words. _'Every one of us has light and dark within their heart. We must, for just as neither light nor dark can exist without the other, neither can we exist without both in our hearts.'_ Minerva's words rang in Link's head. Lord Arcana was saying the same thing she had, but Link didn't want to believe it. He couldn't believe it, otherwise that would mean the Gerik he had been fighting was they very same one that he had befriended.

"When I had first faced your friend in combat," Lord Arcana continued without noticing Link's stunned silence, "I could sense the darkness within him. It was a lot greater than I would've imagined in such an honorable and steadfast young warrior. I assumed some great disaster must have recently befallen him, but in any case I was quite surprised by his skills. I knew the moment I fought him that he would've made a powerful ally indeed if I could have him, but at the time nothing would've turned him against Hyrule."

"That only proves it's not the same Gerik," Zelda said almost crying, apparently not wanting to face the reality of it anymore than Link did, "that it's a fake facing us."

Lord Arcana turned toward her with a smug look. "After my son had 'killed' me, I slunk away to heal my wounds, but I still kept an eye on the battle. I watched as your friend sacrificed himself, and at that moment knew the opportunity to recruit him had come. As you both have witnessed from the scores of undead I've sent against Hyrule, my skills in necromancy are matched by none. A couple weeks after he was buried I snuck into the graveyard and went to work. Using my powers, I raised Gerik's lifeless corpse from his grave and gave him a second chance at life."

"You desecrated a grave simply for your own selfish ends," Zelda shouted, her defiant spirit returning. "That was not the same Gerik you brought back. It was one you manipulated."

"I did no such thing. All I did after reviving your friend was give the darkness already within his heart a small push. After that, it was up to him which side to follow. If the darkness in him won through, then I had my new disciple. If he had fought against and overcome the darkness within himself, then I would have killed him right where he stood and deemed him a lost cause. Luckily for me, the poor boy's spirit was so crushed and damaged that he was overcome by his own darkness in mere moments. After that, well the rest is history."

"BASTARD!" Link shouted, finally coming out of his paralytic state.

Lord Arcana's head, which had been staring in Zelda's direction with a smile planted across his face, snapped in Link's direction. Link was on his feet and charging Arcana. Arcana just sighed and shook his head disapprovingly, his body as relaxed as could be. When Link was close enough he threw a punch a Arcana's face, which he dodged simply by tilting his head out of the way. Link threw another and another, but Arcana dodged each one in turn. Link then attempted a roundhouse kick at his head, but Arcana saw that coming as well and simply ducked his head below the strike.

Standing up straight, Lord Arcana clenched his hand and nailed Link hard in the stomach, making him keel over. Arcana then wasted no time at all in driving his elbow down full force into Link's back. Link's body collapsed fully, his face smashing into the marble floor beneath him. Lord Arcana wasn't done, however. Before Link could even attempt to get back up, Lord Arcana reached down and grabbed Link by the throat. Using just his one hand he then lifted Link off the ground, his grip around Link's throat tight, but not enough to strangle him, yet. He brought Link's bloody face on level with his own and stared into the boy's weary, yet staunchly defiant eyes.

"Such a waste," Lord Arcana said, genuine disappointment in his voice. "You would have made an excellent addition to my new order. Such fire burns within you. Oh well, tis a pity, but no use whining over it. It's time to end this, once and for all."

With the flick of his wrist, Lord Arcana tossed Link to the floor. Link hit the ground hard and skidded to a halt. He tried to get back up, but his arms collapsed beneath him and he fell down once again. His strength had left him. He had nothing left in his bruised and battered body. What was worse was that he had forgotten Minerva's training; he had given into his anger and let it control his actions and now here he was a broken man at the end of his life.

Link could still move his head and turned to look at Lord Arcana. He watched as Arcana walked over and picked up his sword, Dragonflame. Turning to stare at Link still lying there, Arcana smirked and began walking over. Link knew this was it. If he didn't do something and fast, Arcana was going to kill him. Unfortunately, he could barely stand up let alone dodge sword strikes. Before Link knew it, Arcana's iron clad boots were standing before his face.

"And now Hero of Time," Lord Arcana declared, "you will die."

"No!" screamed Zelda as Lord Arcana's sword came crashing down.

Link's eyes involuntarily clenched shut as he heard Zelda scream. He had just a few precious seconds before his life would be ended. He willed his body to summon whatever strength he had left, but knew it wouldn't come fast enough. An idea sprung to mind, but he wasn't sure if he could accomplish it. With no time to waste debating it, Link summoned every last ounce of magic left in his body and unleashed it. Just as Dragonflame was about to hit, Link's body became encased in the diamond-like shield of Nayru's Love. Dragonflame slammed into Nayru's Love in a shower of sparks, but was unable to pierce the ultimate magical defense.

* * *

Navi just stared up at Gerik, shock evident in her eyes. She couldn't believe that she had frozen like that. Gerik had been defeated; he was pinned to the wall and just one stroke away from death, yet Navi couldn't bring herself to do it. As she had looked into his eyes, all she saw was the man she once loved, and that brief pause had given Gerik enough time to turn the tables on her. Now she was lying on her back, her lungs still struggling to fill with air, with Gerik standing over her.

While shaking his head and making 'tsk tsk' noises, Gerik raised his sword and brought it down upon Navi. Wasting little time, Navi quickly teleported herself far out of Gerik's reach. She reappeared back on her feet and her sword held at the ready just in case Gerik was already on the move. When she looked up, however, Gerik was still standing where she'd left him, his sword held in mid-swing. He just raised his head to look at her and smirked.

"So you have some more fight in you then," he said. "Good, I was hoping you wouldn't give in so easily."

With that Gerik took off at a full sprint, pushing himself off the wall for an added boost. Navi adjusted her stance and quickly scanned the room. If she was going to defeat Gerik she was going to have to try something a bit unconventional, and in order to do so she would need to lure him into the middle of the room so she would have the biggest possibility of success. Instead of going for a frontal assault, when Gerik was close enough he quickly sidestepped and went at Navi from her side. It all happened in one fluid motion, no pauses at all, that Navi almost wasn't able to bring her sword around in time to block.

His attack blocked, Gerik immediately flipped his body over Navi. As he came down, instead of landing on his feet, he thrust both his legs out behind him scoring a direct hit at Navi's back, sending her stumbling forward. Before she could recover, Gerik quickly spun around to perform a leg sweep. Just before he could trip her up though, Navi teleported herself out of his reach once again. It was now or never. Gerik wasn't exactly in the center of the room, but it was good enough. He was away from any walls which he could use to his advantage and Navi had a full 360 degree arc from which to attack.

Navi reappeared within Gerik's line of sight and immediately launched a fireball straight at him. As soon as the fireball left her palm Navi once again teleported out of sight. Gerik wondered what she was up to as he easily sidestepped the fireball. His ears pricked up, however, as he heard the faint sound of several small objects flying towards him. Gerik spun on his heels and crossed his arms in front of himself to protect his face and chest as ice daggers rained into him. His forearms took the brunt of the attack, a few grazing his shoulders and stomach. When he looked up Navi was nowhere to be seen, but out of the corner of his eye he saw a ball of light heading his way. With no time to remove the daggers, Gerik was forced to jump out of the way.

Navi continued this method of attack, teleporting from one area of the room to another, staying in one place only long enough to launch a magical attack at Gerik. She randomized her jumps, sometimes reappearing behind, other times to the sides, so Gerik wouldn't be able to anticipate where her next attack would come from. Navi also randomized her attacks so Gerik couldn't plan how to dodge the next attack when it came. Gerik was being hard pressed to dodge so many attacks one right after the other, especially since Navi was now launching her attacks so that dodging one would land Gerik directly into the path of another.

Gerik deflected what attacks he could and dodged the rest, but even with his speed and nimbleness Gerik was finding his muscles straining beyond their limit. He couldn't keep it up forever, and already he was beginning to slip. Several of Navi's attacks had grazed him. The hits weren't bad enough to stop him, but they did slow him down even more. Luckily, he knew Navi couldn't keep this up forever either, and that she had to be running dangerously low on magic by now with the sheer volume of attacks she was performing.

Gerik narrowly missed another attack as he sideways somersaulted. As he landed, he felt an icy, sharp pain hit his feet. A chill instantly ran through his body as first his feet, and then his legs started to become numb with cold. Looking down, Gerik saw his feet and lower legs encased in a thick layer of ice. He tried to move, but the ice had him firmly glued to the spot. Gerik took his sword and started stabbing at the ice. He did risk stabbing himself by doing so, but it was a risk worth taking as it left him completely vulnerable.

Looking up, he saw Navi reappear before him on the other side of the room. She sheathed her sword and then cupped her hands together. Gerik watched worriedly as a ball of pure energy began to form between her palms. His eyes then went wide as Navi thrust her hands out before her, firing a beam of pure, magical energy straight at him. As the beam sped toward him, Gerik now frantically stabbed at the ice, not even caring if he cut his own legs off in the process. He broke off enough of the ice to free one leg, but his other remained firmly rooted to the spot. The energy beam collided full force into Gerik, engulfing him and sending him flying all the way to the other side of the room.

Having used the last of her magic, Navi fell down to her knees. She was exhausted, but refused to let her body quit on her. She looked up to see Gerik's body lying prone, smoke rising off his body. A small smile curled on the edges of her lips, but quickly faded as the realization of what happened hit her. There was a rapid movement over from Gerik's body, but Navi's body wasn't fast enough to respond and she soon felt a sharp pinch in her neck. She reached up and pulled out a needle, and then felt her entire body go numb. Her arms and legs became paralyzed.

Navi quickly turned her eyes from the needle back toward Gerik. She watched as he struggled to stand up, small wisps of smoke still coming off him. He had somehow survived, but was far from unscathed. She could especially tell by the way he slowly, limped toward her. It wasn't his limp, but rather his face. His arrogant smirk was nowhere to be seen. Rather, his expression was quite serious. As he got nearer, Navi was able to see that his hands were quite severely burned, and his sword looked as if it had partially melted and warped. He had apparently held his sword out in front of him to block as much of the attack as he could.

"Nice try," Gerik said as he stood before her, his tone cold and harsh. "Now, it's my turn. Goodbye Navi."

With anger in his eyes, Gerik gripped his sword in both hands and raised it above his head. In a rage he then brought his sword down with full strength. Despite the paralysis, Navi simply knelt there, her eyes fully opened and watching as her death approached. Unflinchingly, she watched as the sword sped toward her face, and then stopped a mere hair's breath away. Blinking in surprise she looked into Gerik's face and saw tears rolling down his cheeks. His hands were shaking as if he were struggling with something. Navi looked into his eyes, and saw in them not the coldness or rage she had seen recently, but rather the kindness and joy she had seen in them the first time she had ever met Gerik.

"I . . . I . . . can't," Gerik struggled, his voice not harsh but soft, as he threw his sword away from him and took several unsteady steps away from Navi. "I . . . won't!"

"Gerik?" Navi said, the paralyzing effect on her body beginning to wear off.

Gerik looked up at her, tears still streaming from his eyes. "Navi," he said, "I . . . I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I couldn't control myself. The darkness . . ."

"It's okay. Everything will be all right now."

"No! You . . . you have to kill me."

"What?! N-no, I can't. You're you again."

"You have to. I can't hold back the darkness forever, and if it regains control I won't hesitate to kill you. I can't kill myself. If I tried I'd lose control again. You have to do it. Now, while I still have control."

"But I can't," Navi cried, tears starting to form in her own eyes. "You can fight this Gerik; I know you can. You've never been one to give up before, so don't start now. Fight!"

"Even if I could, it wouldn't matter. Lord Arcana . . . he's tied his own life with mine. As long as I live, he cannot die. That means Link's and Zelda's life, all of Hyrule, is in danger as long as I live. Now kill me! Don't let me lose control again! If you love me, then KILL ME!"

Gerik threw his arms out to his sides and puffed out his chest, exposing himself fully to her. His body continued to shake as he tried remaining in control. The tears rolling down her cheeks now, Navi stood up shakily, as the paralyzing effects had not completely worn off yet, and drew her sword. With bleary, tear filled eyes, Navi stared into Gerik's face and saw an almost pleading in his eyes. Then, mouthing the words 'I love you,' Navi plunged her sword into Gerik's chest. He grunted for a brief second, and then fell silent as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his body collapsed into her arms taking Navi down with him.

Navi was now sobbing uncontrollably as she sat upon the ground, cradling Gerik's body within her arms. She removed her sword from his chest, tossing it to the side, and then closed his eyelids with her fingers. Navi continued to cry as she rested her head upon his chest.

* * *

"Son of a . . ." Lord Arcana shouted when he saw Nayru's Love encircling Link's body, his attack a complete failure. "You're only delaying the inevitable. You can't win, and these delaying tactics only serve to prolong your suffering."

"There's always hope," Zelda said from her place on the wall. "Gerik taught us that, and as long as we breath we will not give in to you."

"Such strong and noble words my dear princess," Lord Arcana replied, anger rising in his voice, "but have you already forgotten what awaits Hyrule whether I live or die? I cannot lose."

"You're arrogance is beginning to show Arcana," Link said as he continued to lay there, collecting what strength he could for when the shield went down.

"You think so whelp? Well then, look above you at the manifestation of all my hard work."

That said, Lord Arcana kicked at Link hard. With Nayru's Love still up he couldn't harm Link, but he could still push him. The impact of the kick rolled Link over and onto his back. Link's eyes went wide and his jaw fell open as he had an unobstructed view of the ceiling, and what floated up there. It was the Triforce. Its golden color was nowhere to be seen, however, as its surface was as black as coal. Swirling energies surrounded the Triforce, yet Link could clearly see the three triangles. As he continued to stare, one thought crossed his mind that caused a lump to form in his throat; Zelda had foreseen this in her vision.

"That's right," Lord Arcana said smiling, "it's the Triforce. I bet you thought it had simply vanished after you had made your wish upon it, didn't you? It's physical form may have perished, but not its power. The Goddesses had designed the Triforce so that once a wish had been made upon it, its power would then be distributed among all the living things of Hyrule. Knowing this, it was just a simple matter of recollecting that energy to reform the sacred triangles."

"But how?" Link simply replied in disbelief.

"Oh, it wasn't easy. I spent the entire year after my failed invasion devising a way to recreate the Triforce. I eventually discovered a way to draw out the powers of the Triforce from Hyrule, but it required not only something to channel the energy, but a powerful nexus of life energy."

"This tower, and the Lost Woods," Link realized.

Lord Arcana laughed. "That's right. Though dead, the Lost Woods is still the most powerful nexus of life force in Hyrule, so this is where I chose to construct my tower, which would serve to channel and mold the power it collected back into the Triforce. At the same time, I fed my own evil desires, my own darkness into the collecting energy, as well as feeding all of Hyrule's fears, hatreds, and other negative emotions, which has in turn transformed your sacred relic into a corrupted manifestation of its former self, and only I shall be able to wield its power."

"I won't let you," Link declared, finally getting up onto his hands and knees. "You will not make that wish."

Lord Arcana turned to face him with a smug look. "That's the best part. I am nowhere near the status of a deity, so I cannot fully recreate the Triforce. I can summon the power and mold it, but once completed it will not be able to remain in the shell I've put it in. If I don't make my wish shortly after the Triforce is completed, its energies will build up within the shell, which will then crack and break, unleashing all that built up power resulting in the complete and utter destruction of all of Hyrule. You see, I can't lose. Hahahahahahaha . . .ugh . . . Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Lord Arcana's face contorted in pain as he screamed out and clutched at his heart. He began stumbling around the room, several times appearing as if he would fall over. Link stared at him stunned, unsure of what to make of it. Zelda, however, realized what was happening and smiled.

"Link!" she cried. "Gerik's been defeated. He's mortal again. Now's your time to strike."

Link looked from her toward Lord Arcana, who's screams had died down and he was now standing there, panting. Link got up shakily to his feet, but his body was still far from recovered.

"I don't know if I can," he said, "I . . ."

"Yes you can. Lord Arcana's wounds have not fully healed so he'll be on an even . . . Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Link watched in horror as Zelda was interrupted by several bolts of electricity flying into her body. Zelda's body convulsed as much as her bonds would allow as the electricity continued to pour into her, her screams becoming louder and louder. Link turned to find the source of the attack coming from the end of Arcana's fingertips, his other hand still clutching as his heart. He was still panting and their was sweat evident on his face. After what seemed like minutes, Arcana ceased his attack. Zelda's body slumped in her bonds, her head falling to her chest. Smoke rose from her body, but she was still breathing.

"That's enough from the peanut gallery," Lord Arcana said coldly.

Lord Arcana turned his attention toward Link. When that shield of his went down, he was going to have to finish this fast. Zelda had been right, which is why he shut her up. As soon as he had removed the Master Sword from his body, Lord Arcana had begun a regeneration spell on himself, otherwise he'd have died the second Gerik was killed. Such spells took a long time, however, and the worse the wound the longer it took. His heart had since sealed itself as well as his skin, but they were still fresh and could easily tear open again if he exerted himself too much. That meant he would have to fight Link without any flashy moves, yet still kill him as fast as he could.

Link stared at Lord Arcana, his hands clenched tightly. Nayru's Love did have its drawbacks. It might have protected him from any attack, but at the same time Link himself couldn't attack otherwise he would have already charged at Arcana. Still, he felt it was for the best as Link used the time to calm himself down, to allow himself to think rationally. Zelda had said they would be on even footing, so Link could not screw that up by making simple mistakes. He abandoned Minerva's teachings once already; he wouldn't do it again.

Sensing that Nayru's Love wouldn't last much longer, Link spotted the Master Sword over on the floor and took off toward it. Lord Arcana saw where Link was heading and quickly fired a fireball, realizing only after he'd shot it that it would simply bounce off Link's shield harmlessly. Berating himself for his stupidity, Lord Arcana grabbed Dragonflame and took off toward the Master Sword as well. Lord Arcana was slightly closer than Link was, but just as Nayru's Love finally dissipated, Link dove toward the Master Sword, grabbing it in his hand as he rolled and came up facing Lord Arcana ready to fight.

Lord Arcana stopped where he stood and raised his sword. Neither one made a first move. Instead they began to circle each other. Lord Arcana couldn't even begin to imagine where this boy's strength was coming from, but he greatly admired his drive and determination. The Triforce was nearing completion, and Lord Arcana wanted to be ready to make his wish. That would be quite difficult while also fighting a battle to the death, and Lord Arcana had no desire to perish with the rest of Hyrule if the Triforce exploded. With that in mind Lord Arcana finally stepped forward launching a powerful cross body chop.

Gripping the Master Sword with both hands, Link blocked the attack. Pushing Lord Arcana back, Link attempted to slip in under his defenses and drove his sword upward, but Lord Arcana was too quick. He delivered a knee straight to Link's gut, and only his knowing what was coming next allowed Link to jump out of the way before Lord Arcana drove his elbow down. Link was pushing his body beyond its limits, and despite Lord Arcana having his own disadvantages he was still much faster than Link. He wasn't sure how he was going to accomplish this.

Lord Arcana continued his offensive, pressing the attack against Link. He knew Link's body couldn't take too much more, so he would continue to beat him down until the last of his strength finally left him. When that happened, Lord Arcana would finally finish it. Still, Link blocked every attack that came his way, waiting and hoping for an opening. Arcana kept his defenses tight, however. With each successive attack, Link was being pushed farther and farther back. The wall behind him was quickly approaching, but Link decided to use it as an advantage rather than a disadvantage.

When he was only a couple feet from the wall, Link blocked an attack and then pushed against it, shoving Lord Arcana back slightly. Link then jumped backwards toward the wall. When he got close Link used his legs and kicked off of the wall, launching his body right at Lord Arcana. Link held the Master Sword out before him as he flew through the air. Due to the close proximity between him and Lord Arcana, Lord Arcana was forced to twist his body quickly in order to dodge the attack. As he did so he screamed out in pain and clutched his chest.

Once Link had landed on his feet he spun around ready to block any attack. What he saw instead was Lord Arcana clutching where his heart was, blood running between his fingers. Link smiled. He had reopened Arcana's wound and now was the time to strike. He charged at Lord Arcana, the Master Sword becoming surrounded in swirling energies as he ran. Lord Arcana noticed Link at the last moment and went to defend, but Link was already inside his defenses. Without a moment's hesitation Link plunged the Master Sword deep into Lord Arcana's gut. Lord Arcana let out a short grunt, and then fell to his knees as Link removed the Master Sword. To Link's surprise, Lord Arcana was smiling at him, blood dripping from his mouth.

"Con . . .congratulations," he said as he now started to laugh. "You've destroyed Hyrule."

Lord Arcana's eyes grew wide and then closed as his body slumped over. At the same moment Link heard something hit the ground behind him. Turning, he saw Zelda, now released from her magical bonds, lying upon the ground. Seeing her, Link limped his way over toward her as fast as he could. By the time he reached her, Zelda had already managed to get up on her hands and knees. She just smiled as Link knelt down beside her and wrapped his arms around her.

"It's over," she said as Link released her and stared into her eyes with a weary smile. "it's really over."

Link was about to reply, but as he opened his mouth the entire tower began to shake. Link and Zelda frantically looked about them. Dust and small pebbles were beginning to fall from the walls and ceiling as the tower shook. That's when both Link and Zelda looked up. The swirling energies around the Triforce were gone, leaving only the corrupted triangles remaining. Though hard to tell against its black backdrop, the Triforce appeared to be pulsating.

"Oh no, the Triforce!" Zelda yelled as she stood up. "What . . . what are we going to do?"

Link stood up, unsure himself. "We have to destroy it."

"Destroy it?! How the hell are we going to do that? There's no power in this world strong enough for that."

"I don't know, but there must be a way."

Link lowered his head, not sure of what to do. Hyrule was on the verge of destruction, and all he could do was stand there helplessly. Zelda was right; there was no power other than that of the Goddesses themselves that could destroy the sacred triangles. The sight of the Master Sword sparked something, and Link quickly glanced back up toward the Triforce. He looked back down at the sword, and then once again at the Triforce. He knew what to do, but turning to look at Zelda, his heart sank and a lump formed in his throat.

"I . . . I know what to do," Link said solemnly, his eyes closed, unable to look Zelda in the face.

"Really?" Zelda replied hopefully. "Well what is it?"

Link swallowed hard. Could he really do this? He didn't have much choice. If he didn't, then Hyrule was doomed. Minerva's words just kept coming back to him: _'Because what happens when you are forced to make a choice between the two? What happens if both Zelda and Hyrule are in danger at the same time, and you have time to only choose one? Which one would you forsake for the other?'_ The entire time he only considered himself losing Zelda, but he never considered it the other way around.

"Well?" Zelda asked, the hopefulness fading slightly as she grew worried.

"The Master Sword," Link replied.

"What?"

"The Triforce has been corrupted right? It is now a manifestation of evil. The Master Sword is the Sword of Evil's Bane. If I summon the full strength of the sword, and drive it straight into the Triforce, then I should be able to destroy it before it wipes us all out."

"But what will happen to you?"

Link turned away. "Chances are, I won't make it."

"No," Zelda said, shaking her head, "no, we'll find some other way. You can't."

"I have to! It's the only way. Besides, we don't have time to figure out another way even if there is one."

"But . . ."

"No buts. You're a princess. You know full well that the fate of Hyrule is more important than just one person; even the person you love. I'm a hero, and I know that sacrifices must be made, even if it's my own life."

Tears were free falling down Zelda's face as she looked at Link, her head shaking and her mouth repeatedly mouthing the word no. Link finally turned to look at her, his own eyes watery. Tightening the grip on the Master Sword, he marched over to her, leaned in, and kissed her full on the lips. As they kissed, Zelda could feel Link's tears now rolling down his own cheeks. After several seconds, Link reluctantly pulled away. Without looking at her, Link turned away and headed for the stairwell he had noticed earlier that led upward.

Zelda stood there watching him run off, crying and pleading for him not to do it. And then he was gone, vanishing into the darkness at the end of the room. She wanted to go after him, to stop him, but as much as she didn't want to admit it, he was right. Link had to do this, no matter what either of them truly wanted. After a couple minutes Zelda saw Link emerge out on a balcony near where the Triforce floated. She had to crane her neck to see, but there was no mistaking that it was Link.

Link had run up the stairs as best as he could, but when he reached the balcony he came to an almost complete halt. Hesitantly, he stepped out upon it, the evil reincarnation of the Triforce floating right before him. He stepped up to the edge and peered out. He spotted Zelda down below staring up at him, but looked away, not saying another word to her. This was already difficult enough without adding to it.

Link stared at the Triforce and began taking long, deep breaths as he summoned up his courage. As he did, the Master Sword began glowing in a golden aura, the power radiating off of it enough to create gusts of wind around him. Link raised the Master Sword up, and as he did so the blade changed right before his eyes, turning golden in color. The Master Sword now at full strength, Link pulled himself up onto the railing of the balcony. Letting out a cry, Link leapt off as he drove the Master Sword straight toward the center of the Triforce.


	18. Epilogue

The air whipped past Link's face as he flew toward his goal. The dark, corrupted Triforce grew ever larger as he neared it. Link kept his eyes trained on it, unblinking. He would get only one shot at this, and there was no way he was taking any chances. The Master Sword was held firmly against his chest, both of Link's hands gripping its handle so that when the time came he could thrust the sword forth with all his strength.

The target neared. This was it, the end of everything no matter what happened. If Link succeeded, his life would be ended in the process, but if he failed, then everything would be lost. Minerva's teachings kept resonating through his mind as the understanding of it all finally sunk in. Minerva had known this would happen, or at the very least assumed it. She had known the truth about Gerik and the Triforce all along, but said nothing, giving Link merely the tools to come to the realization alone. Of course, he had thought that he was going to have to deal with losing Zelda, which in a way he still was, and not Zelda losing him and having to deal with his loss, which made the decision all the more harder for him.

The time to strike was now. The Triforce was within striking distance. As Link started to thrust his arms forward, time seemed to still around him The Master Sword shot forth toward its center where the Triforce's magical energies coalesced and bound the triangles together, but before it made contact a fireball slammed into Link's back. The force of the hit curved Link's back inward and sent him flying away from the Triforce. The shock and force of the hit caused Link to toss the Master Sword behind him back toward the balcony he had jumped from. Despite being hit with a fireball, however, his back burned only slightly.

With the pain of the blow still racking his body, Link opened his eyes and saw the floor several stories below him rapidly approaching. He looked about him, but he was falling down the center of the room away from any walls. Even if he had been close to a wall, it would prove pointless as the walls were just smooth marble, not even the tiniest niche to grab hold of. Zelda had seen the hit from where she stood below and watched as Link was plummeting to his death. She quickly ran over to where Link would crash and immediately used her magic to stop Link's descent. Now frozen midair, Zelda then lowered Link's body slowly down into her arms.

Once in Zelda's arms, Link's body collapsed, sending them both sprawling to the ground. Zelda shifted Link's weight off of her and then examined his back. His tunic was burned from where the fireball had hit, but his flesh was barely more than simply reddened. She thought it strange, but Link beginning to stir snapped her thoughts straight back to him.

"What the hell?!" Link said, obviously pissed, as he spun around getting up on one knee and looking up toward the balcony.

Zelda followed suit, looking straight up toward the balcony from which the fireball had originated. Neither her now Link could believe their eyes when they saw whom it was. Standing there on the edge of the balcony, the Master Sword gripped in her hand, was Navi. The Master Sword continued to hold its golden glow in her hand, and if Link wasn't mistaken it seemed to be glowing slightly brighter than when he had held it. Navi was staring straight at the two of them, but she was too far away to discern whatever emotion her facial features were displaying.

"Navi?!" Link said in disbelief. "But . . . why . . . how . . . what are you doing?"

"Link," Navi said, her voice somber, "your entire life has been spent protecting Hyrule. Even as a little kid, you answered destiny's call without question, your noble heart guiding you. After all you have done, after all you have sacrificed, this is not how it's all going to end. You deserve to finally know what peace is."

"Navi, what are you . . ." Zelda began to say.

"Don't you dare!" Link shouted, cutting off Zelda. "You'll die. This is my job!"

"No, it's mine!" Navi shouted back. "I am the Guardian of the Triforce remember? It's my sworn duty to protect it from all who would use the Triforce for evil, even if that means destroying it. My time is over Link, but you have much more to live for. Your job now is to rebuild Hyrule. The two of you, together."

Navi looked over toward the Triforce, which had expanded in size and was pulsating at an ever increasing rate. "There isn't much time," she sighed. "Zelda, Link, I wish you guys the best of luck, and always remember; Gerik and I shall be watching over you two, so you better behave yourselves." Navi allowed herself a small smile as she said that last part.

"Navi wait, no . . ." Link started saying as Navi raised her hand toward them and teleported them out of the tower.

With Link and Zelda gone, Navi turned to fully face the Triforce, a few lone tears running down her cheeks, yet still she smiled. The Triforce had now grown to twice its size, and was pulsating quite rapidly.

"My duty was always to protect the Triforce, and now here I am about to destroy the very thing I swore to protect with my life," Navi laughed to herself. "Gerik, you of all people would've appreciated the irony in this."

With that said, Navi readied the Master Sword and leapt off the balcony.

* * *

With Lord Arcana dead, the magic animating the Stal-warriors had dissipated. The Hyrulian soldiers simply stared in puzzlement as their skeletal opponents abruptly stopped fighting and collapsed into nothing more than piles of bones upon the ground. There was silence at first as the confused Hyrulian Army worriedly anticipated the arrival of an even more dangerous enemy, yet as the realization of what actually occurred started to sink in cheers began erupting across the battlefield. Swords and fists were thrust into the air triumphantly among shouts of 'Victory,' the battlefield now awash with a sense of relief and accomplishment.

It was not all joy and rapture, however. More than half of the Hyrulian Army lay dead upon the battlefield. Of those that survived, few had escaped unscathed, while nearly half were seriously wounded. What made matters worse was that all of their commanders were still missing. Without hesitation, the survivors quickly organized. The more seriously wounded were all put onto horses and sent back to regroup at Lon Lon Ranch. Everyone else who was still combat worthy prepared to march toward the Black Tower.

No sooner did they begin their march than they stopped as they caught sight of a group of figures off in the distance heading their way. The soldiers readied their weapons believing the figures were enemy reinforcements. Once they had gotten close enough for the Hyrulian Army to see who they were, however, they lowered their weapons as relief washed over the troops. It was Darunia, Ruto, and Nabooru. Their commanders had returned, and they weren't alone.

Walking beside the three Sages was Saria and the rest of the Kokiri survivors. Now freed from their prison, some of their vigor had returned allowing them to walk under their own power, albeit more sluggishly than normal. The were a few who needed to be assisted by their fellow Kokiri, but overall they kept pace. With her ability to walk gone, Impa was being carried on Darunia's back. Ruto and Nabooru, meanwhile, were carrying a makeshift stretcher between them on which rested Captain Huntley's body. His cape had been removed and used to cover his remains, his golden helm resting on top.

The Hylian troops became disheartened to learn that one of their commanders was dead while the other two, Link and Navi, were still missing somewhere inside the Black Tower. They were fully prepared to charge forth and offer whatever assistance they could, but Darunia and the others convinced them that their part in this war was now over, that everything now rested upon Link and Navi and for them to just trust in them to succeed. With nothing left to do, they began heading back toward Lon Lon Ranch.

They didn't make much progress before the ground beneath their feet began to shake. Everyone stopped dead in their tracks, looking around bewilderedly for the source of the earthquake. With every second that went by the vibrations increased more and more. It was like a wave, spreading out and engulfing more and more of whatever was in its path and causing the ground to shake while subsequent waves merely increased in intensity causing areas it had already hit to grow worse and worse.

The soldiers all turned toward the Black Tower, knowing it to be the epicenter of whatever was happening. Even from this distance, they could see how horrible things were at the tower, as they could see pieces of it breaking off and plummeting to the ground below, and it was only growing worse. Around the remnants of the Hyrulian Army, the ground was now beginning to split and crack, and the soldiers were finding it increasingly difficult to remain standing. In fact the Kokiri, who were still in a pretty weakened state, were no longer standing at all.

Darunia, Ruto, and Nabooru were growing concerned. Something had happened, and if things kept up the way they were Hyrule would soon tear itself apart, that is unless some worse disaster was on the horizon. As they tried to determine what they should do, there was a bright flash directly in front of them. As the flash vanished, Link and Zelda were now left in its place. Link was down on one knee, an arm outstretched toward the Black Tower while Zelda stood by his side, her hand upon his shoulder.

"Navi!" Link shouted out, "Noooooooo!"

Just as Link shouted, there was a tremendous flash, as bright as the sun, at the top of the tower. The light grew bigger, the sonic boom of the explosion rushing past the Hyrulian Army and beyond. The light stopped growing and then immediately collapsed in upon itself, the entire Black Tower imploding into a single singularity that then exploded into a powerful shockwave that surged forth knocking everyone on their feet to the ground.

As everyone slowly got back to their feet after the shockwave had passed, they looked at where the Black Tower had once stood. There was now nothing more than an empty landscape. The silence that followed was eerie, unnerving even, yet at the same time brought with it a sense of peacefulness. Almost as one everyone let out a sigh of relief that their troubles were now over, though not without great sacrifice. The silence was then abruptly ended as the soldiers cheered out in victory even louder than before, their cries echoing far into the distance.

Amidst the cheering, Link slowly got to his feet and stared off blankly toward the barren landscape that once housed the Black Tower. Next to the Kokiri, Navi had been his oldest friend. They had been through a lot together, facing numerous dangers side by side from the Imprisoning War to the War of the Triforce and even now, during this War of Darkness. She had given her life so that he might keep his, so that he could live on. Link felt lost.

Next to him, Zelda had stood up and stared at Link. She didn't need to read his mind to know what he was feeling. Another war and another friend lost, yet it was different this time. Navi had literally traded her life for his. As princess, Zelda had learned to live with the fact that her people would sacrifice themselves simply to keep her alive. It didn't get any easier to live with the fact, but Zelda had yet to lose someone as close to her as Navi and Link were in the same fashion. Sure, close friends such as Gerik and even her own father had died, but they fell in battle. Zelda could only imagine how hard it truly was for him, but she would be there for him nonetheless. As such, she took a step forward and wrapped an arm around his shoulders and stared off into the distance with him.

"She's really gone," Link said after a while, turning to look at Zelda, his eyes wet with moisture. "It's no trick; she didn't somehow manage to escape at the last second. She succeeded, and gave her life in the process."

Zelda turned to stare into Link's eyes, unsure of exactly what to say. "She did her job," Zelda finally replied. "She fulfilled her duty to the Goddesses and to Hyrule, and for that she will always be remembered as a hero. She's with Gerik now, and I'm sure that the two of them are now happy, relieved, that peace has finally returned. Now let's do what Navi told us to do and rebuild Hyrule, together."

With that Zelda leaned in and kissed Link. Link hadn't expected it, but didn't pull back; rather he kissed her back. Darunia spotted the two, smiled one of his giant smiles, and walked over to them. By the time he reached them Link and Zelda had pulled apart and were just staring at each other, completely unaware that Darunia was walking over. It came as a surprise to them both when Darunia wrapped the both of them up in his huge arms.

"Now don't you two go starting the celebration early," Darunia said with a smile, causing both Link and Zelda to blush and smile themselves. "Let us return home first. Then we can feast and drink, celebrate and mourn."

* * *

As the Hyrulian Army regrouped with the others waiting at Lon Lon Ranch, little did they realize that they were being watched from above. Floating high above the plains of Hyrule Field, invisible to all mortal eyes, was Minerva, the Queen Fairy. There was the slyest of smirks on her face as she watched the events unfolding below her.

Malon and the others left behind in Hyrule Market had come out to welcome back the survivors, as well as tend to the wounded. There were many cheers for the victorious heroes, as well as many tears being shed for their fallen brethren. As the survivors regrouped, they brought with them the bodies of their fallen brothers and sisters in arms, their bodies laid out so they could be honored for their sacrifices.

Malon in particular was making her way through the throngs of the arriving troops as if looking for someone in particular. She spotted Link nearby and headed in his direction, but her pace slowed as she noticed where he stood. Link was standing beside the body of a fallen soldier, the cape covering the body and golden helm resting atop it all too familiar to the farm girl. Her lighthearted mood dropped, yet she slowly walked over toward the body, almost as if an invisible force was pulling her. She wasn't alone either. Zelda was standing there as well, along with many members of the Royal Guard.

Rauru was out walking amongst the troops as well, eventually making his way over to where Impa, Saria, and the Kokiri were. Saria was attempting to heal the damages to Impa's body caused by Gerik, while the Kokiri rested from their ordeal and mourned their own fellow brethren whose bodies still lied unburied within the Kokiri Forest.

The civilians who were hidden off in safety would eventually learn of their victory and join in on the celebrations, but for now it was a time of regrouping and appreciating all that they had gained as well as lost. Minerva simply watched it all. She could have just as easily watched everything from within the confines of her Fairy Fountain, as she had the final battles between Navi and Gerik and Link and Arcana, but for times like these she preferred to be present herself.

There was suddenly a light behind her, and Minerva turned around to see the sun. Lord Arcana's final bits of magic were finally dissipating, and his eclipse of the sun was finally ending. The warmth and light of the sun quickly spread across every corner of Hyrule, signifying not only the end of the darkness gripping the kingdom, but the beginnings of a new Age, one filled with peace and hope for an even brighter future. Everyone down below looked up and cheered as they finally saw the sun again after so many days of darkness.

"Good and evil, light and dark," Minerva started saying to herself as she flew down closer to be among those gathered below, "they shall always be apart of this world, always living in balance. A great light has been lost from this world, the Triforce, but with it so has a great darkness. The greed, power, and corruption of those who would use it for evil has been extinguished with its destruction, but it is not the end of evil itself. It will return again in some shape or form, though when and where even I cannot predict."

Minerva had flown over toward Link and finally landed upon the ground. She walked around him so she could stare into his face, though he and everyone else were still unable to see her, nor were they able to hear her.

"You mortals are far from predicable," Minerva mused. "You're free will is your greatest gift, though at the same time your greatest weakness as well. The future is always in motion, not just one path but an infinite number. Still, I suspect, Link and Zelda, that your rule shall be a long and prosperous one. Here's hoping the rest of your days are full of peace."


End file.
